Way Out Of Your League
by PhoenixSpirit10500
Summary: Cedric/Hermione. Since they met on the Hogwarts Express, both have been intrigued by the other. Will the obstacles submerge them as the Magical World becomes more and more dangerous? R and R please.
1. Chapter 1: The First Meeting

**Disclaimer: No copyright intended, all characters belong to JK Rowling; this is for pure entertainment purposes**

**Way Out of Your League**

_**Cedric and Hermione**_

**I have been thinking of this story for a few months now, so I finally decided to write it up. **

**Hope you enjoy it! This is my first fan fic so all reviews (good or bad) would be extremely helpful!**

**(Note: This chapter was revised on the 11th**** July 2009.)**

**-**

_The First Meeting_

Cedric Diggory had everything he could have ever wanted. He was fortunate to have good looks, intellect, loyal friends plus a mother and father who loved him. However, he wanted more. He wanted to feel complete in a different way. He would have thrown all that away just to be in love.

He knew that he had a few more years of fun and flirting before he was expected to get into a steady relationship- he was nearly 14 and one of the eldest in the year. But Cedric had already accomplished so much in his short school career, and was expected to do extremely well. That part of his life came easy and natural to him. What was difficult for him was finding a girl he connected with. He had flirted with a few girls, and made friends very easily, but he hadn't been in a relationship yet- contrary to many rumours. That was what he wanted. A relationship with someone who had the same interests as him, who he felt he could spill his secrets to.

Now in his third year at Hogwarts, Cedric sat in a full compartment on the Hogwarts Express looking forward to another year of learning. He was accompanied by his closest friend Tom, and his fellow roommates Edward and Daniel. The lunch trolley had been and gone and, boys being boys, they stocked up on their favourite snacks. They were still talking about their holidays and what they had been up to, Edward was telling them about their trip to Egypt when suddenly they heard the compartment door slide open.

"Excuse me?"

A voice came from the compartment door. They all looked up and saw a small looking first year with coffee brown bushy hair. She stood nervously in the door, stepping from side to side.

Cedric glanced up at her, and felt his heart skip a beat. He stared at her, taking her all in. She was already dressed in her school robes, and they were slightly too big for her. The first year noticed his blatant staring and blushed.

"Yes? Can we help you?" he asked her politely, looking into her eyes.

She faltered, entranced by his speckled grey eyes. They were very striking, and she had never seen anything like it before.

"Umm," the girl paused, and cleared her throat, "I was just wondering if any of you have seen a toad? My friend Neville's lost one." She couldn't take her eyes away from Cedric. Rays of light from the window glittered and shone, making his light brown hair appear streaked with gold. His eyes twinkled. She was entranced.

Cedric's friends noticed the interaction between them and hurriedly started rummaging through the empty cartons of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans which were strewn across the floor.

"Sorry about the mess!" called Daniel from underneath a seat, "Ouch, damn, I've broken my glasses." He got up from his hands and knees, and took off his glasses to inspect them.

Automatically, the first year got out her wand, waved it at Daniels glasses and said, "_Occulous Repairo_!"

His glasses mended. The four boys stared at her in astonishment. They hadn't seen a first year do that spell before. And the fact she just _did it_, no hesitation. The girl blushed an even deeper shade of red.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to do that, I need to go now…. his toad isn't in here but thanks for your time!" Without looking back she swept out of the compartment. Daniel was staring at his glasses, Edward and Tom glancing at each other and Cedric……well Cedric didn't take his eyes off the empty space where the curiously beautiful first year had been.

-

In the Great Hall, Cedric sat at the Hufflepuff Table beside Tom. He noticed 2nd year Cho Chang sneaking glances at him from the Ravenclaw table. Cho seemed to have developed a crush on him since he helped her with her Potions homework in the library last year. She followed him around like a lost puppy hinting heavily that she liked him. Cedric had found it slightly endearing at first, she was one of the many admirers he had, but she get annoying after a while. The fact she was always there, with a glint in her eye. It made him nervous. He wasn't mean on purpose, he turned her down gently but she hadn't realised. She still thought that Cedric liked her, and was just playing hard to get.

Cedric sighed.

All of a sudden, the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor McGonagall came into view, leading a small group of worried looking first years down towards the stool where the Sorting Hat was placed.

One of the first years, caught Cedric's attention. _It's the girl from the train!_ He would finally be able to learn her name.

One by one, the first years were called apon; Cedric cheered all the new Hufflepuffs including Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Cedric looked up and his face unexpectedly lit up with happiness. The first year from the train stepped up bravely towards the stool, and appeared to be muttering to herself. For no reason Cedric was praying that she would be Hufflepuff but he knew there was no chance. She looked too clever to be in his house, she would fit in well at Ravenclaw. Sure enough, a few minutes later the Sorting Hat called,

"Gryffindor!"

Cedric groaned with disappointment as she jumped off and hurried off to the table cheering the loudest. He watched on as Hermione smiled shyly when she shook the Weasley Twins hands. Then he turned his head, so that he could still see her, but it wouldn't be that obvious.

-

Hermione was beaming, she had read about all the houses before she came and was pleased to be in Gryffindor. She sat besides the Weasley twins then looked around at all the faces around her.

She noticed that a certain Hufflepuff kept on glancing in her direction. She recognised him from her embarrassing train journey. She blushed again. _Why is that Hufflepuff looking at me?_ _He looked like that on the train…. Have I got something in my hair or something? _

"Congratulations Hermione!" one of the twins said. Hermione started as she was pulled out of her thoughts. She smiled at him.

"Thanks."

"I'm Fred Weasley, and this is my brother George."

"Oh, hello." Hermione was already glancing at Cedric again. There was something about his eyes that mesmerized her.

Fred looked at George. George looked at Fred. They both grinned. George followed Hermione's gaze and said,

"His name is Cedric Diggory. He's in 3rd year like us and on the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team. He plays seeker. He is a good guy, quite popular though," George smiled. Fred chuckled. They both agreed that Cedric Diggory was way out of Hermione's league.

Hermione didn't notice their exchange; she was furiously trying not to look over at the Hufflepuff table again. Instead she focused on her friend Neville, who was just about to be sorted. Realising she had to answer; she hastily thanked them then cheered for Neville- the newest Gryffindor.

-

**Review please if you haven't already : )**

**New Readers:**** This story gets better with each chapter, once first year gets out of the way it is the second year- and a lot happens then doesn't it?? "Hint hint"**

** So if you don't like it, please keep going- I think that my writing style changes as I write more… what do you think?**


	2. Chapter 2: The Becomings Of Obsession

**This chapter is dedicated to all who have read this story so far! Especially Ginger-Whinger because without him, this story wouldn't be up for all Harry Potter fans to see- I couldn't figure out how to upload a chapter :p**

**I have a Disclaimer on my page which saves me having to write one each time.**

**Thanks to: Arcanum Paradox, Becca - loves - twlight, Invisible Shadowess, Nazmitaz, Ginger-Whinger, ginnylovesharry07, Gandalf the Grey-Edelwiess and indigo8795 for reviewing the first chapter :)**

**(Note: Revised on the 11th**** July 2009.)**

* * *

Chapter Two: The Becomings Of Obsession

For the next few weeks Cedric determinedly looked out for Hermione. He was even late for classes while he followed her to her own. Luckily he was a model wizard and only received snide comments from Professor Snape.

He was becoming distant with his friends who were getting fed up of seeing Cedric gazing dreamily at Hermione in the Great Hall and him calling Hermione's name in his sleep. They had had enough after 2 weeks of nonstop, "HERMIONE!", and they had all cast a silencing charm around Cedric's four poster bed.

Hermione, on the other hand, was trying not to care that she had no friends.

She walked alone to her classes and sat next to Nearly Headless Nick in the Great Hall. The only consolation was that she could stare at Cedric at dinnertimes without being interrupted. Nearly Headless Nick remembered what it felt like to be in love- although he did not tell Hermione that- and left her to glance at Cedric at every breakfast, lunch and dinner.

She had looked in old records and discovered much more about her crush Cedric Diggory.

His father was Amos Diggory and worked at the Ministry.

His mother was a Muggleborn and owned a small cafe in Diagon Alley selling wizarding foods. She didn't have much business but it was more for her own sake than for profit.

Cedric was an excellent student and Quidditch player and was expected to receive all Outstandings in his O.W.L.S and N.E.W.T.S.

Hermione was impressed. She was determined to prove to her parents and the school that Muggleborns were as good as purebloods. She had read about Muggleborns in "_Wizarding Society_" by Amanda Grenfell and how purebloods called them Mudbloods- filthy blood. She hated that her birth was despised in the wizarding world. But she had been so pleased when Professor McGonagall had appeared at her house and told her that the imaginary world of wizards and witches were actually real and she was a witch. It made her feel more normal, she had always known something about her wasn't right, and now she had a reason to be. It was one of the happiest days of her life.

* * *

The day of Halloween arrived and Hermione was looking forward to the Halloween feast.

_My first Halloween as a real witch! _She giggled as she was leaving the Great Hal after lunch.

She was so engrossed in thinking about Halloween that she didn't notice a tall handsome third year Hufflepuff walk towards her.

"Oof!" she cried as she bumped into him and fell to the floor.

"Oh. Damn. I'm really sorry, I tried calling you but you didn't hear me," a male voice said. A strong hand pulled her up. She looked into his eyes, and recognised them.

"Cedric!"

"You know my name?" Cedric's eyes widened with astonishment.

Hermione blushed.

"Yeah…..Fred and George ….told me at the Welcome Feast …." Hermione stammered, yelling at herself to be calm. It didn't work.

"Oh right." Cedric laughed nervously. He had been planning for days on what to say to Hermione but now he was there, his mind went blank.

"I was just wondering how you were. You seem to be by yourself in the library most of the time. Maybe you wanted some company…….?" He trailed off as he caught a glimpse of Hermione's stunned face.

_Stupid! She doesn't like me at all! Walk away Cedric. Say never mind and walk away._

"I'd love to!" Hermione blurted out.

Cedric was taken aback. He was surprised but very happy all the same.

"Great! Shall we meet tonight? I can give you a real tour of Hogwarts and we can ….talk." He said, realising as he said it how pathetic it sounded. It wasn't a great plan but he desperately wanted to get to know her.

"OK, shall we meet after the feast?"

"Yeah. That sounds great. Meet out here afterwards. Until then Hermione." He smiled and walked away.

* * *

Hermione didn't know how she got to Transfiguration. She was insanely happy. Cedric had talked to her! He wanted to meet her!

Her good mood continued until her happiness slowly drained through Charms. She was paired with Ronald Weasley. The red haired boy she had seen on the train trying to turn his rat yellow. She wasn't impressed. He had been raised a wizard but couldn't do a simple spell?!

While Hermione was thinking about this, Ron was waving his long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong! It's Wing-_gar_-dium Levi-_o_-sa, make the "gar" nice and long," she snapped at him. _Honestly it isn't that difficult! Hasn't he been listening to Professor Flitwick?_

"You do it then if you're so clever!" he snarled. Hermione flinched.

She rolled up her sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand and said, "_Wingardium Leviosa_!"

Her feather rose into the air. She was momentarily thrilled when Flitwick applauded her but her mood went straight back down when she saw how mad Ron looked.

When the class had finished she had decided to apologise to Ron and was about to call his name when she heard,

"It's no wonder no-one can stand her, she's a nightmare honestly!"

She pushed past them as tears welled up. _She wasn't a nightmare! Cedric liked her! She wasn't a nightmare! Cedric liked her! _

She kept repeating those two phrases over and over as she cried. She ran blindly and found herself in the girls bathroom. Parvati and Lavender came in at regular intervals throughout the day but she said she wanted to be alone. They were only doing it because they felt guilty. They had laughed at what Ron had said.

She had no idea what the time was. She didn't go to the feast. She just sobbed into her sleeves, in a locked cubicle.

* * *

_Where is she?_

Cedric kept shooting glances at the Gryffindor table. She wasn't anywhere. Not near Nearly Headless Nick, or Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Or Parvati and Lavender. She was nowhere to be seen!

The food arrived but Cedric didn't want to eat. _Was Hermione in the Hospital Wing? Was she in her common room? Was she avoiding him? _He didn't know. All he knew was that Hermione wasn't there.

Suddenly the doors swung open and a figure stumbled in, running up the tables towards the staff table.

"Troll in the dungeon! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON…..thought you ought to know," Professor Quirrell shouted, before collapsing to the floor.

* * *

**These chapters are fairly short- don't worry, they get longer!**

**Review please.**


	3. Chapter 3: Panic and Friendship

**Thanks to reviewers: Invisible Shadowess, htbookreader1, perfectships and Gandalf the Grey-Edelwiess.**

_**(Note: Revised on the 11th**__** July 2009.)**_

_**

* * *

**_

Chapter 3: Panic and Friendship

Panic erupted. First year Hufflepuff's were screaming and clutching each other, as were the Ravenclaw's. The Gryffindor's being Gryffindor's looked scared but refused to panic like the other houses. Slytherins were looking cool, calm and collected as if a troll in the dungeon was a regular occurance at Hogwarts.

Cedric jumped up. He was scanning the Gryffindor table anxiously praying that Hermione had appeared in the past minute since he last looked.

_Please Hermione, be there, please!_

But she wasn't.

He looked at the head table. The teachers were whispering to each other and Dumbledore had stood up.

He told them to remain calm and to be escorted to their houses.

Cedric barely heard him. All he could think about was Hermione and if she was safe._ What if the troll had got her?_

He shook his head. _No she can't. She's just in the hospital wing or asleep or something._

He thought about it all the way to the common room and he sat down with Tom.

"You ok? Pretty exciting huh?" Tom asked him. He was concerned. Cedric wasn't being his normal self, so he tried to make light conversation.

"Hermione," Cedric croaked, "She wasn't at her table. I don't know where she is. I'm supposed to meet her tonight and," Cedric started yelling, "I DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS!"

Tom was momentarily stunned. But he remained calm as he tried to comfort his friend. He awkwardly patted his arm and said,

"Don't worry Ced, she's probably in her dormitory or somewhere private. I heard she was pretty down today. Parvati told Padma who told Susan who told me that Ron Weasley had made her really upset in Charms and she'd been crying all afternoon."

Cedric looked up.

"WHAT?!"

Tom jerked and dropped his hand from Cedric's hand.

"Calm down Cedric! No need to shout."

Cedric blushed slightly, "Sorry, it's just I feel something for her, I want to get to know her…. if she got hurt…..I don't know what I'd do…" He trailed off.

"Listen, you can't do anything now. Sprout will be coming down soon after she's searched the dungeons with the others. She won't let you out and if you come back while she is still here, she will ask you where you've been. Why don't we play some wizards chess or something?" Tom dragged him up to their room and pulled out his chess set.

* * *

Hermione had been crying for hours. She had missed the feast and was about to go back to the common room when she heard a big grunt.

She cautiously unlocked the cubicle and screamed. A great big troll was standing in front of her. His club swaying from side to side. Unfortunately, at her scream the troll noticed her and swung his club at her. She retreated to the wall near the sinks as the club crashed into them.

"CONFUSE IT!!" a male voice shouted.

Hermione's eyes snapped open. _Was that Cedric?_

But it wasn't. It was Harry and Ron. _What are they doing here?! How did they know where I was?! And what is Harry doing?!_

Harry had jumped up onto his back and plunged his wand into the troll's nostril._ Disgusting…. hh please don't do anything stupid Harry! Just don't fall off!_

"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!!" Her eyes flew to Ron. His wand was raised and he was in deep concentration as he aimed the club to hit the troll on the head.

Thud. The troll fell to the floor knocked out by his own club._ Wow…._

She looked at the troll and whispered,

"Is it dead?"

"I don't think so; I think it's just been knocked out."

Hermione nodded absently as Harry pulled out his wand from the troll's nose.

She thought back to when she saw the troll.

_FLASHBACK_

_Oh My God! I'm going to die! Cedric! I didn't get to say goodbye… I wanted to get to know you so badly, I liked you…oh Merlin please don't let me die! I love him!_

_END OF FLASHBACK_

_I don't love him do I? I barely know him! No, it was just a spur of the moment, life flashing before your eyes, looking towards the light, love at first sight kind of thing._

_I don't love him._

_Do I?_

She was abruptly interrupted by Professor McGonagall, Snape and Quirrell rushing into the girls' toilets.

"What on earth were you thinking of? Professor McGonagall asked furiously, taking in the scene.

Hermione frantically thought of a reasonable excuse but couldn't think of one. _Harry and Ron have saved my life. The least I can do is get them out of trouble. Maybe they might be nice to me now…._

"Please Professor McGonagall- they were looking for me, I went looking for the troll because…I thought I could deal with it on my own- you know, because I've read all about them." She said nervously. She glanced at Ron, he had dropped his wand. She smiled to herself.

Hermione hung her head as McGonagall told her off and sent her back to the Gryffindor Tower.

She quickly ran to the Tower and waited for Harry and Ron.

When they arrived, they looked at each other, embarrassed and all said thanks at the same time.

They went to get some plates and Hermione didn't think of Cedric all night.

* * *

Meanwhile Cedric had lain in bed after 4 nonstop games of chess. He hoped she was all right. Their head of house had turned up about midnight saying that the troll had been caught in the girls bathroom by Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

Edward and Daniel had glanced at Cedric when Sprout had said that. They had seen his reaction to the news and how bad he took the fact she was missing. They were pleased she was safe…was honestly thought he had made a big deal out of it. But they didn't know how Cedric felt about Hermione. Then again… neither did Cedric.

Tom grinned at Cedric and said,

"Told you she'd be OK."

Cedric had nodded and got into bed after that, for once not dreaming of Hermione Granger but of trolls.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, I'd love to know what you think of the story so far, as I keep saying- read on, it gets better!**

**Review please.**


	4. Chapter 4: Emotions

_**OMG OMG OMG so sorry that I haven't updated in like AAAGGGGEEEEESSSSSs**_

_**Forgive me? I would explain but you probably don't need to hear it**_

_**If anybody wants to talk about my story, suggest some jokes or anything that they would love to see in the story, review or message me!**_

_**I'm always open ) plus I would mention your name in the next chapter, basically give you credit for your suggestion.**_

_**I'm such a suck up**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter Characters; they are simply puppets for my awesome show/story. Pure Entertainment Purposes**_

_**Anyway here is the long awaited (hopefully) next chapter……**_

CGHGCDHGCDHGCDHG

"Cedric? Can I talk to you?" Cedric looked up from Charming Charms by Polly Parkins to see Hermione standing awkwardly by the table.

Cedric put down the book and gestured for Hermione to sit down.

"Hi Hermione." He said simply as Hermione nervously sat down.

"Hi Cedric." She replied with a weak smile.

They sat in silence for a few seconds then, "I'm sorry I didn't meet you when you asked me too. I was so caught up in finally having friends that I completely forgot and-" Hermione trailed off.

"What about me? Am I not your friend? I was your friend before Harry and Ron and Parvati and Lavender! As soon as they come and save you from that idiotic troll, you ditch me!

Hermione gasped, "I didn't ditch you! As soon as I realised that you were waiting for me, I ran. I ran and ran but when I got there, you were gone. I'm sorry ok? Please, can't we just go back to the way we were?"

"How? How can we go back? What were we like before Hermione? We stared at each during meal times and when I finally got the courage to ask you out, you got attacked by a troll. When I arranged a second meeting, you didn't turn up. I was waiting for an hour Hermione. And you, just because you **finally**have some friends, you decide that I'm not worth it." Cedric pushed the chair back and grabbed his books. Hermione clung to his robes, her eyes begged him not to leave her.

"I'm sorry Cedric. I got caught up in the whole thing. I have **never** had friends before. Not ever. Until I came here, I was unhappy. When I met you, I….I….I-"

"Save it for someone who cares Hermione" Cedric said angrily and walks to the library doors.

Cedric didn't look back; he walked calmly to his common room, through the 3rd year boys' dormitory door, pulled the hangings around him and sobbed quietly.

CDHGCDHGCDHGCDHG

FLASHBACK

Cedric is by the Library Entrance holding a book with a red rose in. He has dressed in casual clothes and he has subtly styled his hair. He looks down at the book, "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen to make sure that the rose is still there. He smiles to himself. Cedric asked Hermione who her favourite author was. Hermione had said Jane Austen. She had read Sense and Sensibility but she had always wanted to read Pride and Prejudice. Cedric had gone to the library and in a small corner was a section titled "Greatest Muggle Authors." He had looked at every cover. Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, Sophie Kinsela, Brothers Grimm, Stephanie Meyer and voila! Jane Austen. He had borrowed it and asked Edwards sister to conjure a single red rose for him.

He had gone to a lot of trouble to make Hermione feel happy.

Cedric looks at his watch. 7:30. Hermione was half an hour late. "Probably doing homework" he thinks to himself.

He looks around, willing Hermione to appear. But she doesn't.

Another half hour goes by. Cedric looks sadly at the red rose. He takes it out of the book and drops it on the floor. With another glance around, he walks off, feeling humiliated.

END FLASHBACK

CDHGCDHGCDHGCDHG

Hermione was left alone in the library. She was hurt, angry and humiliated all at the same time. _I suppose he's right though. I did get caught up in the whole friend's thing._

Hermione slipped out and raced back to the common room. She went to her dormitory where Parvati was.

"OMG Hermione Guess what?! Harry asked me out! I was like ooooooo yes please! I'm so happy-" she faltered, "Hey, what's wrong Hermione?" asked Parvati softly.

"What? Oh. Congratulations Parvati. I guess I'm just tired. Gonna have a nap. Night." And she pulled her hangings around and her tears trickled quietly down her cheeks and onto her gold coloured pillow.

CDHGCDHGCDHG

The weeks went past. Hermione became distant with everyone including the teachers!

"Miss Granger. Would you please come out of your daydream and tell me how to make a simple calming draught," sneered Snape one morning a few weeks after the Cedric incident.

"Pardon Professor?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"You heard Miss Granger," smiled Snape cruelly.

Hermione wracked her brains quickly. _What had Snape been talking about?_ She couldn't think. The only thing that she had been thinking about was Cedric. Cedric and how she could make Cedric forgive her.

She looked around and caught Ernie's eye. "Calming draught!" Ernie mouthed frantically from behind Snapes' back. "How to make a simple calming draught!!"

Hermione smiled and told Snape- much to his astonishment- how to make a calming draught. Once she had finished, she carried on with her daydreaming.

CDHGCDHGCDHGCDHG

Cedric on the other hand, refused to think about Hermione. He blanked her in the Great Hall and in the library. He concentrated on other things. Whenever he saw her, his fists automatically curled into a fist. He was so hurt and angry at her, that Cedric thought it best to distract himself. He threw himself into Quidditch and lessons and even with Cho. He subconsciously thought that dating Cho Chang would make Hermione jealous. He didn't particularly care for Cho, but Cho's love for Cedric made up for it.

Sure enough, when Hermione entered the Great Hall she immediately turned back and ran outside. Harry and Ron stared after her and then to the Great Hall. All they could see was that Cedric Diggory, the most popular boy in the school had a girlfriend. Ron shrugged at Harry and they both went to get some food.


	5. Chapter 5: Food For Thought

_**OK, first of all get the easiest part out of the way first, the disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, therefore I do not own the Harry Potter World.**_

_**The last chapter was definitely not my best. I'm determined to make this one the longest and the best one yet.**_

_**Tough Challenge huh?**_

_**One of my reviewers has asked why Cedric was sobbing and Hermione was weeping. I hadn't thought that through at the time, I just really wanted to update the story so I'm going to say that because Cedric was alone and he had gone to all that effort to make Hermione feel special, he was overcome with emotion and cried. **_

_**On the other hand, Hermione wasn't alone- Parvati was in the room- and she didn't know how much trouble Cedric had gone to. So she chocked back a lot of her tears. I'll make sure to think about little things like this in the future.**_

_**So here is the next chapter- hope it's better than the last ones **_

_**: ) review?**_

CDHGCDHGCDHGCDHG

Hermione raced back to the common room and, thankfully, saw that that it was empty. She sat down on her favourite armchair by the roaring fire. Since it was getting colder, the fire was never out.

She couldn't believe it. Cedric and Cho. _How could he? I thought he liked me. Well, I guess he moved on. I was terrible that night._

_I deserve it. _

_It's not my fault though! Ron was teaching me wizards' chess. Ron didn't know about Cedric. Nobody does. Well, I haven't told anyone, that doesn't mean that Cedric could have told someone._

_But._

_What was there to tell? Cedric was right. We barely talked. All we did was glance at each other in the Great Hall. And smile if we met in the corridors. I swear he followed me sometimes. He was always there. Watching me._

_Oh Cedric. _

Hermione lifted her legs and held onto them tightly as she cried. She seemed to have built up a lot of tears. They wouldn't stop. Not even when Harry, Parvati, Lavender and Ron came through the portrait hole. Harry stood there awkwardly. He wasn't good with crying girls. Parvati and Lavender crept forwards taking small steps.

"Hermione?" Lavender asked.

"What's wrong Hermione?" Parvati said tentatively.

But Ron. He did something no-one expected.

He didn't hesitate. He marched forwards and pulled Hermione up. He put his arms round her, and comforted her.

Everyone else by that time, had come through the portrait hole. They were quite confused at the scene before them.

Harry Potter, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown were standing round Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley who were embracing. Some 3rd years sneaked out and went to find their friends from other houses.

CDHGCDHGCDHGCDHG

"Ceddy? Do you want to help me study tonight?" giggled Cho Chang outside the Ravenclaw common room entrance after. She waited for her Ceddy to reply but he didn't appear to be listening.

"Ceddy? Are you listening to me?" she asked, her voice rising ever so slightly.

Cedric jerked back into reality. It was very easy to set Cho off. If she caught him when he wasn't paying attention, then she would throw a tantrum where ever she was, no matter who was there. It made Cedric feel slightly embarrassed. He wasn't allowed to let his mind wander when Cho was there. Cho needed his full attention. Or else he would face the consequences.

"Umm," he paused, "Yes?"

"Oh goody!" she exclaimed. Cedric sighed in relief.

"I'll meet you after dinner tomorrow night and we can go to the library. I've got this really difficult essay for Transfiguration. It's all about….." Cho droned on for about 5 minutes on her terribly difficult essay. Cedric zoned out again. Even though it was easy to set Cho off if she caught him not paying attention to her, it was just as easy to pretend to be listening. All he had to do was nod in the right places. But tonight, he couldn't do it. For the first time in about a fortnight, he thought of Hermione.

His heart leapt and started beating frantically at the mere thought of her. When he was with Cho, all he felt was loneliness. But when he was with Hermione, or even just catching a glimpse of her at breakfast or after Herbology, he felt like he could sing. _That wasn't normal was it?_

Cho finished her speech on the difficulties of 2nd year Transfiguration homework and was waiting expectantly.

Cedric looked at her. She was leaning towards him and her mouth was pouted slightly. Immediately Cedric knew what Cho wanted. A kiss.

Cedric groaned inwardly.

He tilted his head down and kissed her. She latched her arms around his neck trapping him. _She is such a bad kisser. _He broke off and smiled.

"See you tomorrow Cho." He turned and walked off, subtly wiping his mouth of lipgloss. Cho was one of those girls who lathered herself in blusher, mascara and lipgloss.

Cedric cursed the inventor of ligloss. _Too sticky._

When he got to the common room a bunch of fellow 3rd years were whispering. As soon as they caught sight of him, they blushed and started talking about the weather.

Cedric looked quizzically at them but they turned their heads so they didn't face him.

"What's all that about?" he asked Tom, Daniel and Edward who were doing their Muggle Studies essay on Muggle Transport. Daniel was reading "Unfogging the Future".

"Huh? What do you mean?" replied Edward. Tom was scratching out something on his parchment. Daniel looked up from his book with a curious expression on his face.

"Lucy, Emma and Claire were talking about something. When they saw me, they stopped. Any answers?"

"Oh…yeah…that….well-" started Daniel but Tom interrupted.

"Apparently Ron and Hermione are going out. Alice saw them in the common room about an hour ago. She told Claire who told me, obviously." Tom was very blunt, he never told a lie, that was a good and bad thing.

Cedric nodded. He was shocked._ Ron and Hermione? No. That's just….no._

"Ron and Hermione. Great. Do you why or….anything?"

Edward smiled slyly.

"I thought you didn't care about Hermione anymore?"

Cedric was about to answer when he stopped himself. Edward was right. Why did he care?

"Doesn't matter. I just didn't think they would get together so soon. They've only been friends what 3 weeks? It's a bit fast don't you think. For first years. Cho is my first girlfriend, and even now I think I'm not ready for her. It's a big deal to have a relationship-" he stopped himself again. _Great, now I'm rambling. Obvious enough?_

Daniel shrugged and went back to his book. Edward tried not to grin but his shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter. Tom looked Cedric in the eye. They had an understanding. Tom put his quill on the table and walked over to his girlfriend Claire. He pulled her away and out of the entrance.

Cedric sat down in the empty seat and waited for Tom to return.

CDHGCDHGCDHGCDHG

Hermione pulled back from the hug. It felt reassuring to have Ron's large arms around her.

"Do you wanna go for a walk Hermione?" he asked her.

"Okay." She replied. She looked at Lavender. She mouthed, "Go for it!" and did a thumbs up. _Trust Lavender to make a big deal out of things. _Parvati and Harry were in a corner talking about their History of Magic essay. She left through the Portrait Hole. It was getting late now so they didn't venture far.

"So, are you better now?" Ron asked her. She thought about it. Being with Ron, it made her forget about Cedric. A little bit. It was like instead of carrying 10 books in her bag, it was more like 6 books. It was a lot. But also a little.

"Yes, a bit. Thanks for being there for me Ron." She smiled.

"It was the least I could do. I still feel really bad about that Charms lesson. And being an idiot. You had done nothing wrong Hermione. It was just….you're so clever for a Muggleborn. I've grown up in a house full of wizards, and I don't have half the skill that you do." Ron seemed to relax slightly after he said that. Like he had been meaning to say that for a while.

"Don't worry about it." Hermione smiled shyly.

"I just wanted you to know, that if you ever needed someone to talk to," he paused, "I'm here for you Hermione."

"Thanks." She hugged him quickly and they returned to the common room.

_**So, I hope that was OK. I really want to move this story on about a year! That's when it gets interesting!**_

_**Any ideas on fillers or anything? I'm kinda running out of things for the first year!**_

_**Review please : )**_


	6. Chapter 6: Just Friends?

The common had thinned slightly of Hufflepuffs and Cedric was sitting by the fire.

Tom had returned about with Claire a few moments before.

Tom kissed her on the cheek and made his way over to Cedric. He fell into the opposite armchair looking quite pleased with himself.

He glanced at Cedric.

"Well? What did you find out?" Cedric asked anxiously. Tom shrugged.

"It's nothing major Cedric don't worry about it. Alice, Charlotte and Becca had walked into their common room and seen Hermione hugging Ron. They thought it was major gossip and they had told everyone they could find. Claire heard about it and she knew that you had asked her out-"

"Just to be clear, I didn't ask her out Tom. I just wanted to get to know her," Cedric interrupted quickly.

"That's neither here nor there Ced, I'm just telling you what Claire told me."

Cedric nodded and gestured for him to go on.

"Well, as I was saying, Claire had heard about it and she was telling her friends. When you came in, she stopped because she didn't know if you knew or not. She was looking out for you Cedric."

Cedric nodded again. _OK, maybe this isn't so bad. They might not be going out. All I have to go on is a bunch of Gryffindor third years. I need to talk to her. But what if she hates me? I've ignored her for weeks! I have to try._

He thanked Tom and they walked up to the dormitory together.

CDHGCDHGCDHG

After Hermione had talked with Ron, she relaxed a little. She didn't fret all the time about Cedric. _If it's meant to be, it's meant to be._ She stopped being so shy and she became top of the class in her subjects again. Ron and Harry didn't know what had been wrong but they were sure that it was over.

In November, Hermione was able to think quick on her feet at her first Quidditch match- Gryffindor against Slytherin. Harry's broomstick had been cursed and but she had, luckily, saved him by setting Professor Snapes robes on fire. The curse was lifted once he broke eye contact with Harry. She felt quite proud of that.

The following weeks flew by, everytime she saw Cedric in the halls, she shuffled closer to Ron but Cedric was too busy listening to Cho's innate chatter. _If he's noticed me, he certainly hasn't shown it._

Soon it was Christmas time. Hermione had said goodbye to Harry and Ron in the Great Hall and made her way back through the entrance hall.

She watched two of her fellow first years, although they were in Slytherin she still knew their names, mudblood hater Draco Malfoy and his girlfriend Marie Seal kiss goodbye. Except it wasn't really a kiss. More of a, who could suck more of the other persons face off kind of kiss. **(A/N Sorry, I couldn't think of another way of saying it! Basically it wasn't a sweet innocent kiss!) **She looked away quickly in embarrassment. She sat on the self drawn carriages and then found a compartment on the train. She couldn't wait till she saw her parents again. She had so much to tell them!

She got out her worn out book, Sense and Sensibility and settled down to read.

CDHGCDHGCDHG

Cedric had said goodbye to Cho outside in the Hogwarts Grounds. Cho, on her part, was crying at the thought of being without her "Ceddy" for two whole weeks. Personally Cedric was glad to get away from her.

"Oh, stop crying Cho. It's only two weeks OK?! You've lived without me for like 13 years! I'm not crying, so you shouldn't either." He snapped at her.

Cho's eyes filled with fresh tears.

"Oh Ced, you can be so mean sometimes!"

Cedrics heart melted. Even though Cedric didn't like her that way, he couldn't resist it when she pouted her lips. He gave up being mean.

"Umm…sorry….I….I've …err…had so much homework you know….and…..umm……sometimes it gets too much?" he muttered his extremely weak apology. But in Cho's eyes, he apparently could do no wrong.

"Oh Ceddy, thanks for confiding in me!" she beamed and kissed him sloppily on the lips.

_FLASHBACK _**(A/N- to explain why he was mean to her!)**

"_She's too clingy!" Cedric moaned to Daniel one Divination lesson._

"_I don't see what the problem is Ced. Why don't you just break up with her?"_

"_I can't. I don't want to hurt her. She really likes me Dan! What do I do?" he whispered. Professor Trelawney drifted past intent on hearing everybody's predictions. _

_Once she had drifted over to Tom and Edward's table, Daniel muttered to Cedric,_

"_If you can't break up with her, why don't you make her break up with you? She adores you Ced but maybe if you're a terrible boyfriend, then she might be so mad at you and then, she might break up with you."_

_Cedric's eyes lit up._

"_That's a great idea Dan!" he exclaimed._

_Professor Trelawney looked at them._

"_Umm, I mean that's a great prediction Dan, I wish I was as great at Divination as you!" beamed at the Professor with such enthusiasm that Professor Trelawney smiled back._

_END FLASHBACK_

Now Cedric was on the train. He sat with Tom and Claire and had been staring out of the window while Tom and Claire played Exploding Snap. After a while, Cedric tired of hearing bangs and squeals of laughter. He got up and announced,

"I'm just going for a walk OK?"

Tom was too busy tickling Claire to notice so Cedric walked out, closing the compartment door quietly after him.

Cedric walked through the train, glancing in each compartment. He didn't really know what he was looking for until he looked into the last compartment. There was Hermione engrossed in a Jane Austen book. He winced slightly at the memory of getting her Pride and Prejudice. He still had it in his trunk. He kept renewing it for some reason.

He knocked on the compartment door. Hermione jumped. She saw Cedric and smiled. She gestured for him to come on.

He opened the door and sat down opposite Hermione.

"Hi again." He smiled. Hermione blushed slightly. _Why is he talking to me? Has he forgiven me or does he just want to yell at me some more._

"Hello." She replied.

An awkward pause followed.

"How have you been lately?" she asked him. She wanted to pretend that she hadn't thought of him in a while. That she was just making small talk. But that wasn't true. She still dreamt of him every night.

"I've been good. Been really busy with Quidditch and work and Cho," he laughed to himself," What about you?"

"Oh you know, same old same old, I'm learning so much about magic! I mean I read lots of books about magic after I got my letter but I love practising and seeing magic in action, it's fascinating."

Hermione winced slightly. Whenever she couldn't think of anything to talk about, she always talked about school. School was safe. School was…..boring.

Cedric smiled at her.

"How did you feel when you got the letter? Who came to talk to you about it?"

Hermione phased out, she reminded herself of that joyous day.

FLASHBACK

_Hermione was reading a book curled up in her bed. Her mum was making breakfast and her dad had already gone out to work._

_The front door bell rang._

"'_Mione! Can you get that for me?" Her mums voice came up from the kitchen._

_She sighed and climbed out of bed, slotting a bookmark into the book._

_She hurried down the stairs and opened the front door._

_There, stood the most peculiar sight she had ever seen._

_A woman in long black robes with her hair tightly put up in a bun stood in the doorway._

"_Hermione Granger?" she asked in a stern, but at the same time, friendly voice._

_Hermione was transfixed. _

"_Yes…umm…come on, I mean in, sorry, I'll just get Mum-" she stammered._

"_MUM! Quick!" she called to the kitchen._

_Hermione and the weird looking woman entered the living room which was directly off from the entrance hall._

_They sat down and waited for Mrs Granger to enter._

"_Hermione, love? What is it?" She saw Professor McGonagall in the armchair by the window. "Oh! So sorry, I didn't see you there. I'm Mrs Granger, Hermione's mother. And you are?" _

"_My name is Minerva McGonagall, I am here to tell young Hermione some very important news." And with that, she held out a letter and passed it to Hermione._

_She opened it with trembling hands. __**Who is this weird person?! What's in this letter?!**_

_She read the contents and gasped! Her eyes darted from the letter, to her mother, to the letter again and to Professor McGonagall._

"_Yes, Hermione." Professor McGonagall smiled kindly, "I know it's a shock but, yes, you are a witch."_

_**A witch?!**_

_Hermione sank back into the seat and her mum had snatched the letter and read it quickly._

_Once she had finished, Professor McGonagall explained about wizards, magic, Hogwarts, the ministry of magic, everything that Hermione needed to know at that very moment._

_She even set fire to the table and transformed herself into a cat._

_After about half an hour, Hermione and her mother finally believed her._

_**A real witch. I can't believe it. I'm not a freak! I'm special!**_

_Professor McGonagall stayed until Hermione's father had arrived home and she went through every again. She promised to return and take them all to Diagon Alley and get her school supplies._

END FLASHBACK

Cedric noticed that Hermione's mind was somewhere else. _Probably remembering that day! I was so pleased when I got my letter. My mum took me to her café and served me my favourite meal before immediately getting all my school supplies._

Hermione's eyes refocused.

"Sorry, I must have zoned out. Professor McGonagall came and told me and mum. We didn't believe it at first. When we finally did, Dad had come home again and McGonagall had to go through every again!" Hermione laughed.

Cedric's heart beat faster. _Her laugh is beautiful._

He then told her about his family's reaction and they swapped stories about themselves until suddenly they were at Platform 9 and ¾'s.

"Wow! That went so quickly!" gasped Hermione.

"Yeah, it did. I enjoyed it Hermione. I'm sorry for-" he paused, "Everything, I should have understood-"

"I'm sorry to Cedric, I should have remembered! You were right." She hung her head meekly.

Cedric grinned.

"Call it even?" he asked.

Hermione beamed.

"Definitely! " she replied.

They walked through the wall and then they exchanged addresses, emails, you name it, they swapped it! They promised to keep in contact during the holidays.

They waved goodbye and set off to join their families.

Hermione ran to her parents.

"Honey! Oh, I've missed you so much! Did you have a good time? Tell me all about Harry, Ron, Parvati, and Lavender! Was that Harry or Ron you were talking to just then?

Hermione smiled.

"Slow down mum! I've got so much to tell, wait till we're in the car. That was Cedric, he's-" she stopped, "a friend."

Cedric hurried to his parents.

"Cedric, my dear boy! How has it been? You barely wrote to us this term! How is Cho? Was that her you were saying goodbye to?

"Hi Dad, no that wasn't Cho, that's-" he paused, "Hermione, she's just a friend."

Both sets of parents looked at each other. They smiled. _Just friends._


	7. Chapter 7: Comfort

**DISCLAIMER: Wow, I'm actually JK Rowling, oh wait, that was a dream I had last night- Damn!**

**OK, hey everytime, time for a real chapter!**

**I'm sorry that I haven't updated, had huge writers block! I wrote over a thousand words then deleted it because I couldn't write it.**

**Sorry it's quite short, but I wanted to leave it on a cliffy! Read the A/N at the bottom…….**

**Chapter 7: Split Minds**

The train gathered speed as it left London, going so fast that the houses and disused factories were a blur.

Hermione had settled down in a compartment with Cedric, Claire, Tom, Charlotte and Sam. Sam was Cedrics cousin who he had spent the Christmas holidays with and Charlotte was his 3rd year girlfriend. Sam was in 4th year and they were both in Hufflepuff.

Hermione sat opposite Cedric and kept glancing at him every now and again. Each time she looked at him, he always noticed and smiled back. A warm sensation flooded through her entire body.

They all relayed their Christmas stories. Hermione told everyone about her skiing holiday and how she only skied on the last full day, every other day she was on the balcony of their room which looked out to the snow covered mountains. Cedric knew most of this because they wrote to each other nearly every day.

Hermione had borrowed an Owl from the local Wizard Owl Office; fortunately they chose a resort that was a few miles from a secret Wizard community. They entered it briefly and Hermione showed her parents around and explained some of the shops and things she had learnt.

FLASHBACK

_Hermione, _

_I can't believe you managed to borrow an owl! That means we can write to each other more and not have to wait days and days for the Muggle post to arrive, I don't know how you Muggles manage it! Joke! _

_I hope your skiing is improving, you've spent over a week there and all you've done is gone up and down the ski lift and drunk hot chocolate. Do what you're supposed to do on holiday and actually SKI! That is your aim Hermione. To actually ski._

_Cedric_

_CDHGCDHG_

_Dear Cedric, _

_HAHA! Yeah, we went into the local wizard community and borrowed one. It's only because I'm a witch, I realised that they had heaps of Muggle repelling charms and everything. Fortunately it didn't work on my parents because I was with them. _

_You'll never guess what I did today! I skied for the first time ever! I had help of course the first few times but I actually went up the ski lift then down the slopes! Aren't you proud of me?! Hehe._

_I can't believe you've never tried hot chocolate! It's scrummy!_

_It is YOUR aim to have hot chocolate before we next see each other. Only two days to go!_

_Looking forward to going back to Hogwarts? I am!_

_Well I better be going now, off to __la dejeuner__, I'm really picking up the language. Will be fluent in no time!_

_Hermione_

_END FLASHBACK_

Cedric and Sam took turns telling them about their Muggle Christmas and how funny it was when Cedrics aunt and uncle burnt the chicken, determined to do it the correct way before Cedrics mum intervened just in time. Any later and the house would have burned down!

Tom and Claire had spent time with each of their families. Even though they had been a couple for a year, they were still as close as ever, perhaps even stronger than when they first met.

Hermione started day dreaming, _would me and Cedric be like that? Wait, what?! What am I saying, he is with Cho, we're just friends, we're not going to end up a couple….I wish we did…._

After the stories, Sam got out his pack of Exploding Snap which they played until the Trolley came round. They each bought Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and some Pumpkin Pasties.

They dared each other to eat disgusting looking ones and Hermione was the only one brave enough to eat a brussels sprout bean. They all cheered once she did it, and Hermione was really happy._ How would have thought this could have happened to me? Less than 6 months ago, I had no friends but now, I do! I have lots, I'm so happy, it's amazing!_

In what seemed like no time at all, they were changed into their robes and riding in the self drawn carriages.

"Hermione, wanna know something?" Cedric asked her. She looked up at him, curiously.

"These aren't really self drawn carriages. They are drawn by creatures called Thestrals. Hagrid keeps a bunch of them in the forest. Only tame ones in Britain apparently."

Hermione gasped. Thestrals?!

"What are Thestrals? Why can't we see them?"

Cedric looked slightly awkward. His smile shortened and then became a slight frown.

"Well- umm- they can only be seen by people who have seen death."

Hermione clutched her mouth. _How does he know? Can he see them?_

"C-can you- can you see them?" She asked softly.

He nodded slowly.

"My grandfather, I was only small, I don't remember much, and no-one wants to talk about it really, when I was about 9 I asked why I only had one grandfather when I had two grandmothers. They told me that he died.

When Professor Kettleburn briefly mentioned them in Care of Magical Creatures, I looked them in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I guessed and now, I see them.

Ever I saw them for the first time last year; I always wondered how I was the only one who could see them. Just thought you'd like to know some Hogwarts History."

He smiled weakly at her and shrugged his shoulders. Hermione cautiously put her arm around him. She snuggled into him in a sign of comfort. Cedrics mind went into overdrive. Fractured thoughts spun around in his mind.

_Hermione- Hermione is touching me. Why does it feel so nice? So comforting? It never felt like this with Cho, she was like a leech, latched onto me constantly. But this- this feels nice, feels right. What am I saying?! We're just friends. I don't- I can't- I can't love her. But do I? _

Cedric gently wrapped his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

_I'm- I'm touching Cedric, why am I doing this? Why does it feel so nice, so safe, so comforting? This feels so right, but it's wrong. I shouldn't feel this way, we're just friends. He has a girlfriend! But he smells so nice, so pure and fresh. Wait, no, I did not just comment on his smell! We're just friends; friends don't think things like this. I can't- I don't- I shouldn't- I mustn't- I can't love him! _

They remained in this embrace for the rest of the journey, too busy panicking and thinking to notice that they were at the Hogwarts entrance, too late to realise that someone was waiting for them, too wrapped up in each other and their own thoughts to hear someone gasp.

"CEDDY!!"


	8. Chapter 8 Relationships End

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, maybe if I went back in time with her books and wrote them myself, then I could say I owned it, and I wouldn't have to do disclaimers all the time!**

**Plus I could also be rich! **

**Hehe**

**Here is the next chapter……. **_**Look out for the A/N at the bottom!!!**_

_**Chapter Eight: Relationships End**_

"CEDDY!" cried Cho from the courtyard.

Cedric groaned as he heard Hermione gasp. She pulled out herself out of his embrace and hurled herself out of the carriage as soon as it stopped.

Cedric stared after her as she refused to look at Cho in case she saw her blushing cheeks. She needn't have bothered. All Cho was aware of was Cedric.

Cedric sighed and stepped off with everyone else. Tom muttered,

"Good Luck," as he raced after Claire. He watched the pair walk through the doors holding hands, looking completely content with each other.

Sam and Charlotte were with their own friends and had already past him. He was left to deal with Cho alone.

He strutted calmly up to Cho,

"Hey Cho, how was your Christmas?" he asked breezily as though nothing had happened. _Of course, nothing has happened, but she would never believe me."_

"Who was that?!" she spat. No-one except herself was allowed to hug her Ceddy.

Cedric flushed with anger.

"That? That was Hermione Granger." He answered.

"Hermione Granger?! You've been cheating on me with a Gryffindor?! How could you?" her shrill voice rang through the courtyard, they were causing quite a scene.

"A first year Gryffindor and no, I haven't cheated on you, we're friends. A girl and a boy can be just friends you know," he replied simply.

"Friends?" she scoffed, "Don't give me friends. I saw you two hugging, I saw the way you looked at her. You never look at me like that. Is that why you didn't write once to me? You were too busy with her?!"

Tears were forming and her bottom lip was trembling. Cedric couldn't cope anymore. All his pent up anger with her burst out of him.

"**Oh for god's sake Cho, will you shut the hell up?! All you do is moan and whine and cling to me constantly. I hate it! You can't act like a mature girl. You can't see that me and Hermione are friends. You don't trust me but you expect me to waste all my attention on you. You! When you don't even deserve it. OK?!"** he ranted. Cho looked shocked. He had never yelled at her like that. He was practically shaking with rage.

"We- are- through. Finished. I can't deal with you anymore." He said slowly, making sure that Cho could understand what he was saying.

She gasped.

"You're- you're breaking up with me?" she whimpered. Realisation had sunk in. Her Ceddy didn't like her.

"Yes- I- am," he replied. And with that he pushed past her and through the crowd that had formed around them.

CDHGCDHGCDHG

Hermione gasped as she saw Cho. She pulled herself out of the embrace and got out of the carriage. Her face was burning with embarrassment. She ran past Cho and through the doors. She paused to breathe and heard a girl screeching. She figured it was Cho. Students were flooding out of the open doors to see the scene that was unfolding.

Hermione didn't want to listen but yet she couldn't move. She was frozen, waiting breathlessly for Cedric or Cho to appear.

Minutes later, Cedric came running through. Hermione jumped.

"Cedric!" she called.

Cedric ran to a halt. He looked round and saw her there. He beamed and ran to her.

"I did it. I did it Hermione." He shook her gently. _He looks so happy. What did he do?_

"I ended it with Cho. It's over. God," he paused, "I feel- I feel great, fantastic, free! I never realised how unhappy I was with Cho. I felt……… trapped."

Hermione smiled. They decided to go to the library and talk. They knew they couldn't be interrupted there.

CDHGCDHGCDHG

The weeks passed, Hermione was caught up with Harry and Ron. They didn't know about Hermione's friendship with Cedric. Hermione knew they would feel jealous and try to persuade her to stop being his friend.

However they were too busy thinking about Fluffy and the Philosophers Stone, Snape and Voldemort to worry about who Hermione was friends with apart from them.

Hermione also had to worry about Norbert- Hagrids illegal dragon. She and Harry had to go to the Astronomy Tower and give him to Charlie in a few days time.

Hermione was unloading all her worries onto Cedric every day, when they met in the library. No-one bothered them in there.

"I just can't believe he got an illegal dragon! I mean, he lives in a wooden house, and dragons breathe fire. No matter how many times I told him, he would just wave it away and start baby talking to it. He is seriously addled in the brain. Thank god Ron thought of Charlie or else I don't know what I'd do." She ranted to Cedric a few days before the pickup. As always Cedric never interrupted her. He was a good listener and Hermione admired that.

"Don't worry 'Mione. It will all be over Monday night. Then you can start worrying about something else," He teased her gently. Hermione grinned and wacked him on the arm.

"Ow, that hurt." He replied with a fake hurt look on his face. Hermione giggled. He pushed her back.

They continued like this until Madam Pince came out from behind a shelf. She stared at them and they meekly followed her out of the library still giggling at each other. Once they left the library, they went down to the lake.

They lay down together. It was a peaceful afternoon. The sun was out and there was a warm breeze in the air.

Hermione sighed contentedly. She snuggled up to Cedric. He put his arm round her. This feels nice. _Hang on. This shouldn't feel like this. This feels like we are more than just friends. Why is his arm round me?_

Cedric was thinking the same thing. _Why does this always happen? We always seem to be more than just friends. Is this coincidence?_

They continued like this for about an hour until the wind picked up and it got colder. They stood up and hurried inside. They stood awkwardly in the hall and said goodbye.

"See you at dinner," he winked at her. For some reason, her heart leapt when Cedric winked. _Oh, why is this happening to me?_

When he was out of sight, Hermione walked up to her common room.

When she got there Lavender came over to her. They sat down at a nearby table

"Hey Hermione, where were you? Me and Beth went to the library to see you but you weren't there…." She trailed off waiting expectedly.

"Oh, well- umm- I was at the library, but then- umm I went for- for- for a walk round the lake." Hermione stammered. _I really must get better at lying! _

But thankfully, Lavender bought it. She changed the subject.

"You know Cho Chang? She and Cedric Diggory were _the_ couple but they broke up a while ago. Well she has a new boyfriend! He's in 5th year; her sisters ex. How weird is that?! It's all over school. I saw Cho and Jacob making out this morning after Herbology. It's disgusting! It's -" She was interrupted by Parvati, Ron and Harry.

"Hey guys," Parvati smiled. She sat on Harry's lap. Hermione grinned at his face. He looked uncomfortable but put up with it.

"So did you guys hear about Cho?" Lavender asked them. Hermione groaned. If Hermione had to name one thing that annoyed her about Lavender, it was her incessant gossiping. Ron chuckled to himself and asked Lavender questions about it. Lavender beamed and they carried on talking until dinnertime. Hermione smiled to herself. _I wonder how long it will take before they go out._ Hermione got up and went to her bathroom to quickly freshen up, Lavender noticed and followed her.

"Oooo, expecting to see someone important Hermione?" she giggled.

"Oh, of course not. I – I have a headache. Freshening up….. makes it go away." Hermione replied uncertainly.

They walked down to dinner together as the others had already gone.

They entered the Great Hall and sat down next to Neville, Harry, Parvati and Ron.

She noticed Cedric and smiled. Immediately, she felt happy, calmer, more relaxed. _Oh in the name of Merlin's beard, why do I feel like this when I see him? It never happens with any of my other friends, just him._

She shook herself out of her thoughts and entered the conversation Lavender was happening with Neville. Unfortunately she was retelling the gossip that Hermione had heard twice already that day. She turned to the other side but Harry, Ron and Parvati were talking about Quidditch. Hermione sighed. If only she could have someone to talk to about interesting things. Her mind immediately went to Cedric. Cedric with his deep blue eyes. Cedric with his crooked smile. Cedric with his mop of brown hair with blonde highlights. _No, must not think about him that way. I'm getting sick of thinking about him like that. We are friends. That's it._

She glanced at Cedric again. He was still staring at her. She smiled back.

HGCDHGCDHGCD

_Look at her. God I feel sorry for her. I'm guessing Harry and Ron are talking about Quidditch and Lavender is gossiping to Neville about something trivial._

_Hermione is like the piggy in the middle._ Cedric laughed out loud. Daniel and Edward looked up at him curiously. So did Tom and Claire.

"Never mind, private joke," he replied. He changed the subject and started talking about the upcoming match against Ravenclaw. At short intervals, he looked at Hermione. She was staring at him. He grinned again. Edward looked at Daniel.

"When will they realise that they are perfect for each other?" he muttered to Daniel.

Daniel shrugged.

No idea, I hope it's soon though, I'm tired of Cedric looking at her every two seconds," he muttered back. Cedric glanced at them.

"Private joke," smiled Daniel.

CDHGCDHGCDHG

At long last it was the end of term. Hermione had been extremely busy. She had gone underneath Hogwarts to defeat Snape and Voldemort, when actually it was Quirrell and Voldemort. Quirrell! _Poor stuttering Professor Quirrell._ Hermione still couldn't believe it now. When Harry had told her to get Ron back to the school, she ran into Cedric. She had told him earlier that she could be in danger. He followed her to the 3rd floor and when they dropped the invisibility cloak, he picked it up and kept lookout, waiting for her to return.

**FLASHBACK**

**Hermione pulls Ron off her broom which she fortunately managed to fly reasonably well and opens the door. She pulls Ron behind her and then jumps in fright.**

"**Cedric!"**

**Cedric appears from nowhere.**

"**Hermione," he gasps, "What happened? Where's Harry? What happened to Ron?"**

**Hermione tells Cedric what happened and together, with the aid of the invisibility cloak, they take Ron to the hospital wing. Hermione departs quickly to the Owlery to send Dumbledore a letter but she meets him on the way.**

**She tells Dumbledore about Harry and he visibly pales and hurries off in the direction of the 3****rd**** floor.**

**She goes back to the hospital wing and finds Ron awake.**

"**Hermione!" he calls, "What the hell is Diggory doing here?" **

**Hermione blushes and glances at Cedric. Unhelpfully, he shrugs in return.**

**So Hermione tells Ron the whole story, well the highly edited version, but enough for him to get the picture.**

**At the end of her story, a tired looking Dumbledore enters the hospital wing. He is holding his wand in front of him. Hermione screams. Harry is unconscious floating towards the nearest bed.**

**Cedric briskly walks over to her and puts his arm round her.**

"**What happened Professor Dumbledore?" Cedric asks. Dumbledore glances unsurprisingly at them.**

"**Harry met Voldemort. He nearly died," he said simply.**

**Hermione collapses onto the nearest bed in shock. **_**So he was really down there. He is alive. Oh, poor Harry.**_

**Cedric sits next to her and she buries her face into him. Cedric shivers slightly at the feeling. **

**Ron gapes at them. **_**When the hell did they get so close?! **_

**END FLASHBACK**

They were on the train home passing through the countryside. It was a pleasant day, you could see for miles around. Hermione glanced at the people in her compartment. It was extremely crowded.

There was her and Cedric, Ron and Harry, Parvati and Lavender, Tom and Claire and Edward and Daniel. It was safe to say it was very hot and very crowded.

_I'm so glad that everyone knows about my friendship with Cedric now. I hated lying to them. Although I had to endure constant nudges from Lavender and Parvati at every mealtime. I hope it dies down next year._

_I can't believe my first year at Hogwarts is over. It was so eventful!_

Hermione glanced at Cedric. He was discussing Quidditch with Ron and Harry. Parvati and Lavender were playing Exploding Snap with the others. Lavender and Daniel were flirting mildly with each other. Who _knew they would have the same sort of interests? _

Hermione liked Cedrics friends. They were nice to her.

Soon the lunch lady came and looked astounded at how many people were in one compartment. However, she took it in her stride and offered them a discount. They bought a mountain of sweets and spent the rest of the journey swapping Chocolate Frog cards.

At Kings Cross station she hugged everyone goodbye.

She said goodbye to Cedric last.

"Write to me?" she asked him. He grinned.

"Of course," he replied. They awkwardly hugged and left with their parents.

**WOW, that was my longest chapter ever!!**

**For that, I think I deserve lots of reviews!! :D**


	9. Chapter 9: The New Year

_**Hi everyone!**_

_**Thanks to all the reviews you gave me, I was so pleased!! **_

_**Maybe the reviews can keep on coming? :p**_

_**It's not an order….just a suggestion……as a birthday present of course….. haha**_

_**OK without further ado, here it is!**_

_**DISCLAIMER:**__** If you think I'm JK Rowling, you're mad. But thanks for the compliment! Lol.**_

Chapter Nine: The New Year

The holidays passed quickly for Cedric and Hermione. They wrote to each other weekly, no matter where they were. They had even spent some time together for a week in the middle of the holidays. Hermione had invited him to go camping along with her and her parents. As she said at the time,

"I love my parents. But sometimes it would be nice to get away from them sometimes."

Growing up with a Muggle mother meant that Cedric kind of knew what camping was. He had actually been camping a few years ago, the year before he started Hogwarts. The only difference between their holidays was that Cedric's family had used magic.

On the trip, Hermione had found watching Cedric struggle with the tent poles absolutely hilarious, much to Cedric's annoyance.

_**FLASHBACK (The bits underlined are their thoughts. Just thought I should point that out…..)**_

_It's about 6pm on a Saturday night. _

_Cedric watches as Hermione collapses onto the soft grass, clutching her sides. She is shaking with laughter and has tears streaming down her face.__ She looks like she is in agony._

_Cedric grimaces.__ I wish I hadn't insisted on putting the tent up by myself. Who would have thought it was so confusing? It looks so simple but it's too hard!_

_Hermione's parents watch the scene with amusement. They smile at each other and offer Cedric some much needed help. Cedric sighs in relief and graciously accepts._

_He moves over and kneels beside Hermione._

"_What's so funny 'Mione?" he chuckles._

"_Oh," she chokes, "Just *laughs* the sight *laughs*of you *laughs*God, I'll never *laughs* forget that *laughs*."_

_Cedric smiles evilly._

"_Hermione," he smirks, "Are you ticklish by any chance?" _

_She visibly pales._

"_Ahhhhhhhhh!" she cries as Cedric tickles her, "No-I'm- too- ticklish!!"_

_Cedric carries on. She manages to roll over and jabs him in the kidneys (A/N: IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT- for some weird reason- YOU CAN PM ME :D)._

_Cedric yelps and Hermione seizes the chance to tickle him back._

_They have a major tickle fight until they notice that the tent is up, with everything inside. The stars are coming out._

_They look up awestruck._

"_You know," Cedric says to her, "I've always wanted to sleep under the stars. I did it once and it was amazing." Hermione smiles at him._

"_We will Cedric. One night, we will." Cedric smiles back. They gaze a little while longer until Mrs. Granger calls them in for dinner._

"_Truce?" she asks him, as they walk into the tent._

_Cedric nods his head, _

"_Truce."_

_**END FLASHBACK**_

Now it was the end of the holidays, Cedric and Hermione met on platform 9 and ¾ along with Claire and Tom.

"Hey guys!" Hermione called to them.

As she walked up to them, Cedric beamed. Seeing her walking towards him made his heart beat faster. His palms started to sweat. _What the hell?!_

_Images of the summer flashed through his mind._

_Hermione's head appearing from the tent one morning, with her bushier than normal. She screamed as she remembered Cedric was there and pulled her head back in. Cedric laughed._

_Hermione in her swimsuit ready to dive into the local swimming pool._

_Hermione with her nose in a book while sunbathing on the beach._

_Hermione. Hermione. Hermione._

He was so engrossed in his thoughts; it was only when Tom punched him lightly that he realized where he was. He looked around to see Tom and Claire laughing. Hermione glanced at him curiously before looking around. As she did that, it looked as though something clicked in her mind.

"Where's Harry and Ron?" she asked worriedly, "They were supposed to meet us here, it's nearly 11. The train's about to leave!"

She looked round again and saw a couple with red hair. She excused herself quickly and dashed off to see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. She had met them at the end of last term. As an afterthought, she turned round and yelled to Cedric, Tom and Claire,

"Go find a compartment! I'll catch up with you later."

She didn't see the dejected look on Cedric's face.

"Come on guys," he muttered, for some reason feeling completely miserable without Hermione.

Hermione rushed off to see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They were saying goodbye to Ron's younger sister, Ginny. She was sitting with Fred, George and their friend Lee Jordan. Hermione noticed that her face was flushed with excitement. _I remember the feeling. I was so scared at being on my own, meeting new people, learning magic. I probably didn't make a good impression._

"Umm, excuse me," she asked, "Do you know where Harry and Ron are? They were supposed to meet me here but they haven't."

They froze. Mrs. Weasley clutched Mr. Weasley's hand.

"What do you mean?" replied Mr. Weasley sharply, "We thought they were with you."

They quickly said goodbye to Ginny and dashed off to the wall. They found a small crowd of parents trying to get through. But it wasn't working. The gate was barred shut.

Hermione gasped.

Mrs. Weasley turned.

"Hermione," she said, "Go onto the train. Now! It's about to go. We'll find them and put them on. Go!" she pushed Hermione gently and joined Mr. Weasley's side.

The clock struck 11. Smoke billowed from the train and slowly started to move. She ran towards a door and hauled herself up. _Where are they?! What's happened? Why can't people get through?_

She continued to think worriedly while she searched for her Hufflepuff friends. Eventually, near the back of the train, she found them. Or rather Cedric found her.

"Hermione!" called Cedric. His head was stuck out of the door. _Finally, there she is!_

"I thought you didn't make it. Where's Harry and Ron?" he asked as he ushered her inside the compartment. Claire and Tom were stretched out lazily, holding each other loosely, on one side of the compartment. It felt like an intimate moment. _God, I feel like an intruder._

She stood awkwardly while Tom and Claire sat up. They smiled at her as she sat down. Cedric sat next to her.

"Why were you so late?" asked Tom, "We thought you weren't going to come."

He ignored the glare that Cedric sent his way.

Hermione noticed but didn't ask. Instead she relayed all the information she knew. About how wizards couldn't get through the barrier.

Claire gasped,

"What do you mean they couldn't get through? Are our families safe? What happens if they're trapped there?!" Claire cried. She had a large family who had visited her over the holidays. They had all come to see her off.

Hermione paled. _I don't want to see Claire in distress_. She glanced at Tom who appeared to have read her mind. He wrapped his arms round her and she buried her head into him. Her shoulders shook slightly but seemed to calm down. _She must feel safe in his arms…..like I do with Cedric…._

The train carried on up the country. After Claire had settled and curled up with her head on Toms lap, they talked about their holidays. Tom and Claire had spent half the holiday together in Portugal with both their families. They had known each other from a young age and so there parents were good friends with each other.

They all laughed at Cedric when Hermione retold the tale of Cedric's attempt of putting up the tent. By himself. Cedric grimaced at the memory and hurriedly changed the subject.

The lunch lady came and with her appeared Daniel, Lavender, Edward and Pavarti.

Hermione noticed immediately that Lavender and Daniel were holding hands. She smiled at them all and welcomed them into the compartment. They all bunched up and opened some Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. They spent the rest of the journey daring each other to eat disgusting looking beans. Hermione bravely ate a celery flavoured one- she had a "thing" about celery. She looked pleased with herself when Cedric ate an earwax flavoured bean then promptly disappeared to the nearest toilet.

The sun set behind the mountains. The lights had been lit. It was dark when they arrived in Hogsmeade. There was still no sign of Harry or Ron but Lavender told her of some of the rumours she had heard whilst being up the train.

Her group had been interrupted by some excited looking first years when they saw a blue car flying over the train.

Hermione scoffed the idea. _Even though it sounds like Mr. Weasley's car-_ Ron had told her in a letter how they were flying to Kings Cross- _they surely aren't stupid enough to fly it to Hogwarts._

She traveled with Cedric, Tom and Claire but she kept glancing at the sky. _Surely- surely they can't be that stupid!_

They arrived in the Great Hall. Hermione hugged them goodbye and then greeted her fellow Gryffindors. She sat down next to Pavarti and Dean. She talked to them, occasionally glancing at the huge oak doors leading into the entrance hall. She was willing Ron and Harry to appear. _What if something's happened to them? What happens if they don't come back?_ She prayed that they would appear before the Sorting.

But the Sorting came and went. She cheered all the new Gryffindors including Ginny. _Ron will be pleased! _

The Feast was over. Dumbledore had welcomed them and they had enjoyed a delicious feast. She looked over to the Hufflepuffs and saw Cedric laughing with Edward and Daniel. At that moment Cedric, noticing someone was looking at him, locked eyes with Hermione. He stared at her as though daring her to look away. Hermione blushed but continued to stare.

Eventually Neville tapped her on the shoulder. She broke the contact and gazed wildly around. She saw Neville.

"Err Hermione? You alright? You were staring into space," he asked her.

"Oh… don't worry I'm fine. Look, we can go now, shall we walk together?" she replied. They stood up. She looked at Cedric, and winked. Then she blushed at her behavior. _Who knew I could tease someone? Is that what I just did? Tease someone? Oh well… oops Neville's talking._

He told her that Nearly Headless Nick had heard about Harry and Ron. He had seen them being marched to the dungeons. Snape looked triumphant. The reason? Because they had crashed a flying car into the Whomping Willow.

Hermione sighed.

_Boys._


	10. Chapter 10: So Close

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I do own Claire, Tom, Edward, Daniel, Charlotte, Sam….basically that ones that aren't in the books. Lol.**

**Heya! Really sorry that I haven't updated. I've had my mock exams- finally over!! I've been really busy and then I got a really bad throat infection, I wasn't in the mood to write.**

**But now I am! **

**So here is Chapter 10..**

**I really should sort out the chapters; they are out of sync, because of my stupid author notes!!**

**Do I just replace the author notes with the following chapter…or what?**

**Some help please!**

**And yeah, I really want to get over 50 reviews so I won't update until I get 55. That's reasonable isn't it? And if you like Twilight, read the Vampire who can't be moved as well! Review it please!!!**

**Gah! I'm rambling. Sorry.**

**Here you go.**

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**Chapter 10: So Close**

Hermione and Neville climbed the moving staircases all the way to the top. The two Gryffindor's chatted about their holidays as Hermione had been with the Hufflepuffs on the way up to Hogwarts. He was telling her all he knew about the flying car incident when they reached the corridor containing the Fat Lady.

She immediately spotted a familiar red headed Gryffindor arguing, or so it seemed, with the Fat Lady.

"Ron! Harry!" she called and ran up the corridor with Neville followed behind her.

"Oh, there have been the most ridiculous rumours about you two, did you really travel here in a flying Ford Anglia?" she said as soon as she stood next to them, Harry and Ron opened their mouths to reply but before they could, Hermione carried on, "Do you have the password? I do!" and with that she said the password- wattlebird. Ron and Harry smirked at each other. Let the interrogation begin, they thought simultaneously.

The portrait flung open and they entered the common room. It was already crammed with the rest of the Gryffindor's. Neville went straight up to the dormitory, bidding them goodnight as he went. She tugged Harry and Ron to the nearest seats and immediately bombarded them with endless questions. She couldn't help it. She was so angry at them.

"Where were you?"

"What in Merlin's name happened at the barrier?"

"How stupid could you get?!"

"Did you really fly up here?"

"Where's the car!"

"Why the hell did you do it?"

"What did Snape say?"

"How much trouble are you in?"

Harry gripped her arm in an effort to make her stop. Ron rolled his eyes at Hermione. It was so typical of her to agonise over every little detail.

"Hello to you too Hermione," Ron chuckled.

"Oh Ron," she scoffed, "Now, you want to say hello and observe the niceties. Didn't think of that at the platform did you? Trying to avoid the subject are you? What actually happened?"

"Well, basically we arrived at the barrier with Ron's family. We were the last ones to go through and we prepared ourselves. We ran at the barrier but crashed into it. It had closed itself! We panicked and instead of doing the sensible thing of sending Hedwig ahead, we used Mr Weasleys car and flew here. The engine started failing and we crashed into the Whomping Willow. The car chucked us out then drove into the Forest leaving us stranded. We got into the Entrance Hall and got caught by that foul git," Harry growled at the mention of Snape.

"And then?" Hermione asked eagerly, "Was it bad?"

Not really, we got detention from Professor McGonagall. I thought we would get expelled or something. Snape was sure we would get expelled. That's why he called Dumbledore and McGonagall too. He looked absolutely livid when he heard our punishment. Can't say I blame him though," he raised his hands and air-quoted, "'Damaging an old and important tree,' yeah right! The tree did more damage to us!" Harry explained to Hermione.

"And the car," added Ron with regret, "When Mum and Dad find out, they're going to kill me. I'll be sure to get a Howler tomorrow. What will they say about my wand? It was Charlie's!"

"Don't worry Ron, I'm sure they'll be glad you're safe," Hermione replied uncertainly. _Yeah right, what am I saying?! That's a great bit of advice Hermione._ She mentally slapped herself.

Ron scoffed but didn't answer. Instead he got up, and went up to bed. Harry smiled at Hermione.

"Don't worry Hermione. It will be OK. I need to talk to Parvati before she goes," he nodded in the direction of Parvati sitting by the fire, "See you tomorrow," he gave her a quick hug and crept up to Parvati. He hugged her from behind and she squealed before hugging him back.

She sat in the chair a little while longer before retreating to her warm four poster bed. Hermione thought about her eventful day. Waiting for Ron and Harry, expecting a simple and relaxing train journey. But then meeting Cedric at the platform was a much nicer thought, she amended. She had fun with Cedric and his friends. _Her_ friends. She liked Claire and Tom- and Edward and Daniel as well even though she didn't know them that well. Hermione sighed. _Cedric._ Just the thought of him made her insides quiver- if that was possible. It didn't feel like a year that she had known him. It felt like she had known him her whole life. This time last year, she had met him! Hermione suddenly remembered. A year today when he looked into her eyes and made her legs start to shake. A year ago today, when she fell in love.

But that thought didn't have time to make an impact. She fell asleep before she realised.

* * *

The next time Cedric saw Hermione was the following week. They had been busy with homework. Cedric also had Quidditch practise to deal with. Hufflepuff was determined to NOT finish last this year. Cedric was the seeker, so he thought it was down to him to win the points for Hufflepuff.

It was Saturday. Cedric was walking back from a particularly gruelling practice when he bumped into Hermione so very unexpectedly that the force of it knocked her to the ground.

She fell with an unladylike grunt.

"Hermione! Are you OK?"

"Oh…Cedric! It's you," Hermione gasped.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah…fine…thanks for pulling me up."

"No problem." He laughed.

"So…how was practise?"

"How did you know where I was?" Cedric raised his eyebrows with amusement.

"Well, you're wearing your Quidditch robes, you're carrying a broomstick, and your teammates are behind you, it's not obvious at all where you have been…" Hermione retorted.

"Har- har, 'Mione. Very funny. You have such an intuitive mind." He tickled her gently. She leaped in response. _I love how sensitive she is…._

"Cedric!" she squealed. She darted out of his reach tauntingly. Cedric grinned then threw his broomstick to Tom and started to chase after her. Hermione shrieked as Cedric ran at her and frantically sprinted away in the direction of the lake. Tom laughed as he watched the scene, and then carried on back to the castle to get changed before lunch.

* * *

Cedric chased Hermione through the grounds before grabbing her roughly and pulling her to the damp ground with a thud.

It had been raining that morning and Hermione felt the dampness seep into her clothes and stick against her back. But she didn't mind that. All she was aware of was a tingling spreading through her body.

They were by the lake. It was now lunchtime; everyone was eating, so it was extremely quiet. He had her arms pinned by her sides. Their noses were almost touching. Cedric could feel her heart pounding against her chest. It was like every nerve in his body felt alive when he was so close to Hermione. He adjusted himself slightly and heard a sharp intake of breath.

"So…" she whispered.

"So…" he agreed.

He was suddenly nervous. If someone found them like this, they would get the wrong impression. But, then again, what was the right impression?

Did he want to kiss Hermione? Did Hermione want to kiss him?

He leant forward slightly and he felt Hermione take a short shallow breath but then,

"CEDRIC!"

**Ooo a cliffhanger! PLEASE REVIEW I'm not uploading the next chapter until I get ****AT LEAST**** 55 reviews ;) That isn't a lot to ask, surely! **


	11. Chapter 11: Interruption

**In the last chapter, I put it was Saturday. It's actually Sunday….:S sorry.**

**If I replace the chapter; do I lose the reviews?**

**Thanks for all the reviews, when I get over 75 reviews, I will update!**

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**Chapter 11 Interruption**

"CEDRIC!"

Cedric abruptly rolled off Hermione and onto the damn grass. He quickly looked at Hermione who had visibly stiffened in shock. Her face had paled and her eyes had widened. _Damn. Who is that?_

He looked up to see the last person he wanted to talk to storm over to them. He pulled Hermione up and went to meet her.

"What?" he growled angrily. _What the hell does she want? What right does she have to come over here and talk to us? How did she find us anyway?! This had better be good. If she makes a scene, I swear I will hex her into oblivion._

"What are you doing with _her_?" She spat.

"What do you mean by that? Why in Merlin do you care? We were messing around-nothing happened, you saw that" He retorted furiously.

Hermione stood embarrassed by Cedric's side. _What does she want with him? She must still like him. I wonder if she is still going out with that guy in 6__th__ year…._She felt waves of jealousy run through her, which she didn't completely understand. _Why am I feeling jealous? It's Cho, I mean, sure they have a history, but he never liked her. He hated his relationship with her. I remember his expression and I know he felt that day when they broke up! He was a completely different person. Surely Cho knows that. No doubt she will jump to conclusions…_

Sure enough, Cho replied shrilly,

"Excuse me; you were on top of her! How is that messing around? I thought you were 'just friends' with her."

Hermione blushed at what she implied, "Cho, that's really not what happened. He tickled me and chased me round, and then he caught me and dragged me down. That's when you came in. Completely innocent! And besides I don't see how it's any of _your_ business."

Cedric glanced at her. She seemed pleased that she had managed to argue with Cho, when Cho had completely ignored her. She looked up at him and urged him to agree with her.

"Besides, we _are_ just friends. Aren't we Cedric?" Hermione asked, as she nudged him with her elbow. Cedric glanced at her. He could see she was pleading with him. _Why does she want me to say that? Can't we tell Cho the truth? That we were about to kiss? _

Cedric sighed. _I need to talk to her later in private._

"Yes Cho, can't a girl and a boy be friends without everyone thinking they are in a relationship? Besides, I agree with 'Mione, it really isn't any of your business of who I'm friends with. Now if you'll excuse us," And with that, he pushed Hermione in the direction of the castle, leaving Cho standing there with a bemused expression on her face.

* * *

They walked up to the castle and once they had entered the entrance hall, they knew that lunch was over. Students were filing out and many of them noticed Hermione and Cedric. _Why is everyone looking at us? Surely we don't look that strange?_ Hermione tried to picture the scene in her head. _We came into the hall, missing lunch. Cedric's in his Quidditch robes and we are covered in damp grass…..oh, I can see what they are thinking._

Hermione tilted her head upwards to make eye contact with him. He was already looking at her.

"Let's get out of here," he whispered in her ear. She nodded in agreement, shivering slightly at the feel of his breath on her ear, and they walked past the marble staircase.

"What do you think they were thinking?" Cedric asked her as they he led her down a small passageway.

Hermione pondered for a while before she replied, "I'm not really sure. I mean, it's not like they know of our friendship. We've made an effort to avoid the crowded corridors and the gossipers. They probably think we were 'fooling around' like Cho thought."

Cedric didn't respond._ He seems lost in thought. Did I say the wrong thing? Was he embarrassed down there? Does he want everyone to know of our friendship? It isn't a big deal if you really think about it. Hufflepuff's and Gryffindor's are very friendly to each other. If one of us was a Slytherin, then that would cause more problems…._

"Cedric? Are you OK?" she asked him nervously.

He seemed to snap out of his thoughts and he looked at her sharply.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking about things," Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but Cedric quickly added, "Personal things. Don't worry about me 'Mione."

He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"So, we haven't really talked yet, what with one thing or another," Cedric laughed, "What did you do yesterday…?"

_He wants to change the subject. He must be worried about something which he doesn't want me to know._

"Well, me and Ron went to watch Harry practise yesterday. But there was a slight mishap with the schedule. It seemed that Snape provided the Slytherins with permission to practise instead of the Gryffindor's," Hermione paused, wincing slightly at the memory, "Malfoy got mad when I 'disrespected' him and called me a mudblood."

Cedric stopped outside a portrait of a bowl of fruit.

"He-c-call-called……he called you a mudblood?" Cedric asked her suddenly trembling with anger. _Merlin, he is really mad!_

"Yes, the whole team were shocked and Ron got extremely angry and attempted to curse Malfoy. Unfortunately it didn't work, and the spell backfired onto Ron. He spent the remainder of the day belching slugs, which wasn't a very nice sight. Last night he had to do a detention cleaning trophies and he had to re-clean a trophy about 5 times," she giggled nervously, in an attempt to calm Cedric down. He smirked slightly and he stopped shaking. _That's an improvement._

They carried on walking; it was getting darker, as they walked further away from the entrance hall. The passage was lit by burning torches.

"Belching slugs? If only that spell had worked, it would have brought Malfoy down a peg or two."

"Yes, Colin Creevey was there too, I would have made him take so many pictures to put around the school, and also to put into my private collection."

"Your private collection?" he questioned, eyes suddenly lit with curiosity.

Hermione blushed slightly. _Damn, why did I mention that? No-one knows about that. Not even Ron or Harry know about my private collection. But, Cedric is different to them. It's like we have a special connection, which I don't have with the others. But I trust Cedric._

"Well, since I knew I was coming to Hogwarts, I decided to take lots of pictures. When I went to Diagon Alley with McGonagall, she showed me a little photography shop, in one of the side-streets. The owner of the shop showed me some potions, and I browsed his collection of books on wizards' photography. With the money that Professor McGonagall had given me, I bought some of the high quality potions, that would keep the photos preserved for longer. Apparently they would survive an explosion, but I haven't tried that yet," she laughed then continued, "When I came here, I took photos of the station, the train, the grounds, Hogwarts itself. I wanted to document my entire year. When I made new friends, I took photographs of them too."

"Have you taken any of me? I don't remember a camera…." Cedric asked.

"Well, I was reading the book one night, and I came upon an unusual spell. It took me a while to learn. It was a N.E.W.T level spell."

_A N.E.W.T level spell! She is such a talented witch…._

"And…." Cedric prompted, "What was it for?"

"Well, it was a non verbal spell, and there was to ways the camera took pictures. Either something special happened, and it would invisibly appear to take a photo of the moment, or I call it and it takes a picture that way….I can lend you the book if you want, it has a really detailed explanation in it," she explained. _Why can't I explain that? I should have memorised the definition as well._

"Oh," he said, "Could I have a look of them?"

She paused_. I don't want him to see. What happens if he laughs? I could be really embarrassed. _

"Not at this moment in time…..soon though…I promise," she replied.

"Why? Are you afraid I will laugh or something? It's your private collection, it's personal, if you truly don't want me to see, then that's OK. But I would like to."

"How about I give you a rain check?" she asked him.

"A rain check?"

Confusion appeared in his features. His eyes scrunched up slightly and he tried to think of what a rain check was. _He looks cute when he is confused._

"Yeah, a rain check," Hermione laughed, "It's basically when if you have to cancel a plan or reject a plan, you promise to do it in the future, even if you don't know exactly when it would be. Does that make sense?"

Cedric appeared to think for a moment. Then he nodded.

"Sure, a rain check. Do you want to come in?" he asked suddenly. Hermione was taken aback. _Where am I? I was so engrossed in our conversation that I had no clue where I was walking. _

She looked around and saw a dimly lit corridor. They stood outside a still life painting of a field filled with sheep with a setting sun in the background.

"Where are we?" she asked Cedric dumbfounded.

He chuckled.

"In the basements, they aren't as cold as the dungeons but we are on the same level apparently. They're underneath the lake, and we are the closest to the kitchens, so we have really good parties. Do you want to come in then?"

Hermione stared at the painting, it was beautiful and it was the first portrait she had seen at Hogwarts that didn't move.

"Am I allowed in?" she asked worriedly. She knew she was weakening and she realised that she was actually excited at the prospect of seeing his common room.

"Sure," he replied. He tapped on the painting. He whispered the password and the small portrait suddenly grew.

He stepped back as the portrait grew. The portrait seemed to be like the wall at Diagon Alley. Finally it stopped and the portrait swung open. It was the right size and they managed to walk through comfortably. Cedric held onto her elbow in a careless manner. The Hufflepuffs that were relaxing in the common room looked at them. Most of them had shocked expressions on their faces, others had looks of outrage. _Look at them; I know what they must be thinking 'why is she here?'_

Hermione pulled out of his loose grip and murmured, "I don't think this was a good idea Cedric."

He glanced at her, bemused.

"Why not? I thought you wanted to see my common room…"

"I do, but look. Everyone is staring at us."

"Not all of them," he looked around. Everyone hurriedly turned back to what they had been doing before they entered the room, "OK, maybe they are but so what? You're my friend, and I don't care who knows it. It shouldn't matter what house you're in, it's all about who you are."

Hermione smiled. Just then, Claire came down from her dormitory. She beamed when she saw that Hermione was there. She went up to join them.

"So, Cedric finally brought you here! About time too!" she laughed.

"Hey Claire, how've you been?"

She stayed in the Hufflepuff Common Room to talk to her. Slowly, the stares and whispers stopped as they got accustomed to her. Hermione didn't see the unfriendly glares Cedric was giving everytime someone looked at her. Many 2nd and 4th years joined them. Justin Finch Fletchly, Hannah Abbott, Tom, Edward and Daniel were the ones who stayed the longest.

She went to dinner with them and even when she sat at the Gryffindor table, she couldn't believe how calm and happy she felt being with her Hufflepuff friends. Ron and Harry talked to her, as they hadn't seen her all day. They could see that she was distant with them, and they knew why. She was getting closer and closer to Cedric with each passing day, even making friends with the Hufflepuff's. They didn't mind her friendship, as they realised that they couldn't tell Hermione what to do. They just didn't want her to forget that they were her friends too.

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**I think that's my longest chapter…..**

**Please review! I love reading reviews; it makes me smile and encourages me to write quicker!!**


	12. Chapter 12: Acceptance?

_**Disclaimer: I only own the books, JK Rowling wrote the books.**_

_**Merry Christmas everyone! **_

_**I updated for a present, please review.**_

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_Chapter 12: Acceptance?_

October arrived, bringing cold, wet weather to Hogwarts. Students wore their scarves and gloves whenever they had a lesson in the grounds. Fires were always lit, bringing heat and light into the classrooms. Students rarely ventured outside their common rooms, preferring to stay in the warmth.

It was Saturday lunchtime. Hermione and Ron had watched a particularly gruelling Quidditch session and then told Harry they would be at lunch. It was too cold to wait for him. Even wrapped up in a coat, gloves, scarf and bobble hat, Hermione's face stung from the bitter wind. _Poor Harry, _shethought_. He must be freezing every time he is practising, what with flying through the wind._

Twenty minutes later, after walking briskly up to the castle and unwrapping themselves from the confines of their outdoor gear, they were onto the deserts in the great hall. Hermione was sure that Harry should be there by now. _What is he doing? The rest of the team is here…..should I be worried?_

"Where's Harry?" she asked Ron in a carefree way, after she had scanned the hall for what must have been the twelfth time. She tried to say it calmly as Ron, _being Ron_, would no doubt laugh at her for acting all motherly.

Ron looked up and attempted to swallow his mouthful. As usual, it was filled to bursting point.

"'Ow ood I oh?"

Hermione looked at him with disgust as crumbs of chocolate cake flew from his mouth onto the table.

"Honestly Ron, didn't your mother teach you not to talk with your mouth full? How can anyone understand that garble?"

Ron grimaced at her and then gulped his mouthful down with some pumpkin juice.

"I said; how would I know? He's probably warming up in the showers, it was freezing outside. Or he could have met someone on the way, you never know."

"He could be in trouble. We should go look for him."

Ron looked at her in amusement.

"How could he be in trouble Hermione? He's been gone, what, 15 minutes? Nothing could have happened at Hogwarts between the showers and here. Maybe be drowned in the shower!" he joked, then saw the look on Hermione's face. "You worry too much Hermione. He's probably just met someone on the way or remembered a piece of homework that he needs to do now."

"It's the weekend Ron. Harry never does homework at the weekend. He waits until the last minute like you! If I wasn't there to help you, you would be in detention every waking moment for missed homework," Hermione laughed weakly, hoping Ron wouldn't take offence.

The tips of Ron's ears blushed. "We've been doing fine without you Hermione. It's not like you're watching us over our shoulder every night. You're barely with us anymore. You're either in the library or with the Hufflepuffs. But that's not the point; we don't need you to take care of us like that."

"….I haven't been with them all the time."

"Apart from this morning, how many times have you been with us after lessons or at the weekends in the last few weeks?" Ron questioned.

Hermione paused. _I've been with them loads! There was that time with the slugs….then doing homework in the common room….umm……Merlin! That can't be it surely? I must have spent more time with them. How did I not notice? But, it's not like they said anything. If they were upset, being boys, they would have told me straight away. Wouldn't they?_

"That's neither here nor there," Hermione stuttered. "Besides...can't I have other friends? Do I have to ask your permission to go and talk to someone else? Anyway, I thought you liked Cedric and everyone? We got on just fine at the end of last year didn't we?" she asked, ignoring the question.

Ron flushed. It took him a long time to reply.

"We do like Cedric. But……" he sighed. "Don't worry Hermione. It's just; we don't want you to forget about us. All you do is spend time with them. You need to balance it out because one day, we won't be your back-ups." Ron stood up.

Hermione gaped at him, confused. _Back-ups? What does he mean by that? Ron and Harry are my best friends. They would never be back-ups. And why would I forget them? Is Ron jealous of Cedric or something? This is so frustrating! Why can't we all be friends together! That's what I thought we were. Why do I feel like I have to choose? The Gryffindors or the Hufflepuffs? What about house unity? Must there always be an undercurrent of rivalry between houses. Is that just me?_

"Shall we go? I'm stuffed," Ron said- pulling Hermione out of her thoughts. He glanced at his clean plate then looked at hers with raised eyebrows. Confused, Hermione looked down at hers as well. _Oh._ In the heat of the argument she had forgotten to eat her food.

"Yes, let's go. I'm not hungry."

She joined him and together they went to the common room.

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Cedric was happy. He had to admit that he was nervous about bringing Hermione to see the place where he spent a lot of his time. He had asked Professor Sprout if he could bring a non-Hufflepuff to the common room.

_**FLASHBACK**_

"**Mr. Diggory. Come in, what can I do for you?" asks Professor Sprout.**

**Cedric walks further into the greenhouse. His Head of House's voice is somewhat muffled.**

"**Professor?"**

"**Over here, in my office."**

**Cedric walks to the back of the greenhouse, casting slightly anxious glances at the plants around him. He was in Greenhouse Four, home to somewhat dangerous plants, most of them for the N.E.W.T's students. It was also the home to Professor Sprout's office.**

**He pushed the door and saw her behind the desk reading the Daily Prophet.**

**She smiles at one of her favourite students. **_**There is an air of confidence and kindness about him. He will do well in the future, and make Hufflepuff proud.**_

"**So Cedric, what brings you here?" she asks and gestures him to sit in the armchair by the desk.**

"**I won't interrupt you for long Professor; I just came to ask your permission for something." **

"**Oh?" the Herbology teacher asks, leaning in slightly, intrigued.**

"**Well…..you see…." He pauses as he tried to gain control of his speech. Sitting in front of his Head of House had makes him extremely nervous. **_**What if she says no? **_**Cedric takes a deep breath and carries on. "Do you know Hermione Granger, Professor? You must do. Well, over the past year, we have become great friends and I was wondering, does Hogwarts allow students to enter each other's common rooms?"**

**Professor Sprouts beams, "Of course they are, Cedric. It isn't against the rules, to be honest it's encouraged but somehow…..everyone seems to think that you aren't allowed to visit other houses. For nearly all the houses, that would be possible but I do realise that some might feel nervous if others came into their sanctuary." As she says this, both their minds flicker to one house in particular. **_**Slytherins.**_

"**But, as we are talking about Miss Granger, I see no danger. In fact, I encourage this greatly. She is an able witch with extraordinary powers and extremely kind."**

**Cedric agrees and thanks her, before leaving to tell his friends the good news. **

_**END OF FLASHBACK**_

He was delighted when he saw Hermione finally settle in. All his friends talked to her like she was one of their own, and other Hufflepuffs came to talk to her as well. He could see the apprehension in her eyes when they were standing alone in the passage. He could feel her stiffen when everyone stared out her. But thankfully, she didn't leave. Grateful for that, he made sure that no-one made a rude remark. For a fourth year, he seemed to have a lot of influence in Hufflepuff_. Probably because I'm the first Hufflepuff for a long time with the most potential to do us proud. They want to pin all their hopes and dreams on me, as they know that I can achieve greatness. Great. No pressure._

He couldn't wait for Hermione to visit him was great to have someone different, a fresh face, in the common room.

When they ate lunch, Cedric noticed Hermione scan the hall every few minutes. Cedric's eyes narrowed as he tried to think who wasn't there._ She's sitting next to Ron. Lavenders on the other side……Parvati….Neville….Harry. Harry. Where's he? That must be who she's looking for._

He saw at the other end of the table, the Gryffindor Quidditch. They looked as if they were deep in discussion_. They must be discussing how to beat Slytherin…… I've seen them practise. Green blurs on fast brooms._

He noticed Hermione and Ron get up from the table to go, presumably, to their common room. A few minutes later, Cedric chuckled when he saw Harry run into the hall.

_Oh well, they'll find him soon enough._

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Sure enough, they did. And they found out the reason for his lateness. Ron got out his Potions homework as Harry explained where he had been.

"A Deathday Party?" Hermione asked Harry curiously._ It sounds exciting. _"I bet only a handful of wizards can claim truthfully that they've been to a Deathday party!"

"Why would anyone want to celebrate the day they died? Sounds really depressing to me….." Ron muttered grumpily

Hermione gave a look that could rival McGonagall's and Ron went back to work muttering as he went.

_A Deathday party! Too bad it's on Halloween; I was looking forward to the feast. I haven't been to one yet, I was crying last time._ Hermione flinched at the memory. _I had better support Harry though; he can't back out of the promise._

She was interrupted by the antics of Fred and George. They had been discussing what would happen if they fed a Filibuster Firework to a Salamander. It suddenly made a loud bang and flew into the air, sparks emitted from it as it whizzed round the room.

She joined in the laughter at the sight of Percy yelling at the twins. She watched as the salamander escaped into the fire and watched the fireworks that came out of its mouth with enjoyment._ Really, Fred and George don't do things by half…the poor salamander….._

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_**Review. Thanks. Merry Christmas!  
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	13. Chapter 13: Halloween

**Disclaimer:**_** Why would I, JK Rowling, be posting a story that is completely non canon on a Fan Fiction website and not get it published instead? Silly people. *tuts***_

_**I don't own the Harry Potter World, all I have is the series of books on my bookshelf, Audio tapes of 1-4 and somewhere a Harry Potter plate thing that apparently will be worth a lot of money in the future……yeah right…..**_

**So. Anyways.**

**Hello my lovely readers *smiles***

**Sorry for the late update.**

**Please keep the reviews coming, I enjoy reading every single one of them. : )**

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**Here is the chapter.**

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_Chapter 13: Halloween_

Halloween arrived with mist sweeping through the grounds. A cold chill was in the air; a sign that winter was fast approaching. Hagrid, as always, provided enormous pumpkins that were to be carved into lanterns for the Great Hall. The day before Halloween Hermione had managed to peek into the Great Hall. It looked stunning. Floating candles were frozen above the house tables. Live bats fluttered around near the enchanted ceiling. The professors had done a great job making the Hall look spectacular for the Halloween Feast. Hermione felt a warm glow of pride when she looked in. _Hogwarts is the most magical place in the world._

When she had got back to the common room, she saw Harry and Ron in a corner playing wizard's chess. As usual, Ron was winning. She didn't mind. _I beat him in everything else. What's going to happen if I let one of my best friend win at a game? _But, on that occasion, instead of concentrating solely on the game like he usually did, Hermione noticed Harry wasn't himself. He looked out of window, his eyes fixed on a point in the mist, obviously thinking about something. And Hermione didn't need to be a genius to figure it out.

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"You did promise Harry," reminded Hermione bossily for the fourth time that day as they made their way down the staircases. It was the evening of Halloween. As it fell on a Tuesday, lessons had been cancelled for the day, in celebration.

Harry nodded, obviously still regretting his decision to go to Nearly Headless Nicks party. _If you could call it a party. Celebrating the day you died. Surely you would try to forget that…. _Hermione had told Harry about his promise everytime Harry started to slip into a daydream. She started when Ron thrashed Harry at chess. She could tell that Harry was getting slightly annoyed at her repeating over and over again that he had agreed to go to the party.

They walked past the Great Hall. They all unwillingly pulled themselves away from the warmth of the Great Hall and carried on down the passageway that lead to the dungeons. _I wish I could be there. I can't believe I haven't had a Halloween Feast yet! That's like one of the most important things about being a magical being. Halloween! I remember going trick or treating with my mum and dad, it was the one time of year they weren't obsessed with dental health. Seeing all the children wearing costumes made me want to be different. Be special. So I could have a reason for being "weird."_

"Why does the party have to be in the dungeons? It's freezing!" Ron grumbled whilst rubbing his arms in an effort to keep himself warm.

"Ghosts can't feel the cold Ron, they can't feel anything. That's why they are called ghosts," replied Hermione in an exasperated tone. "Besides, dungeons reflect the mood of a Deathday party. It's not exactly a happy event is it?"

Harry laughed. Ron punched him on the arm. Harry stopped. Hermione grinned to herself.

They continued to follow the candle lit passageway, each step they took meant they got colder and colder until-

"Is that supposed to be _music_?" Ron whispered in horror. The trio stopped. Hermione strained her eyes until she heard the so called _music_. Harry gaped then shuddered. _In the name of Merlin's beard. That sounds excruciating! Please don't tell me we have to listen to that for hours!_

Hermione was about to repeat her thoughts but when they turned the corner, they say Nearly Headless Nick standing by a doorway with a sombre expression on his face. The music was louder than ever.

"Good evening my dear friends. I'm so happy that you came. Please go through and enjoy yourselves."

Ron stifled a laugh and so did Hermione. _Enjoy ourselves? At a Deathday party? How ironic._

The trio tentatively stepped through the doorway. She gasped. The temperature dropped about five degrees. _It's so cold in here!_

The large dungeon where the party was being held was full of mournful looking ghosts. Some drifted about on the dance floor keeping in time with the orchestra who were playing a slow waltz with musical saws. Hermione started shivering.

"Are ghosts tone deaf?" asked Ron in astonishment. At that precise moment, a few more ghosts glided through the wall nearest them. The temperature dropped colder still.

"S-sh-shall-w-we-lo-look-a-around?" Harry asked, his teeth chattering. Hermione agreed immediately, she couldn't feel her toes.

They edged round the dancefloor carefully avoiding wandering ghosts. Hermione recognised many of them including-

"Oh-n-n-n-no! Tur-turn-around-qui-quick!" Hermione whispered to the boys desperately.

"W-what? Why?" Harry asked, in bewilderment.

"Moaning-Myr-Myrtle! She-hau-haunts- the g-girls-t-toilets-on-the fir-first-floor." She replied. She led the way in the opposite direction. _Not her. Anyone but her. She is so miserable! I never knew ghosts could cry so much!_

"S-she-haunts-a-toi-toilet?" Ron laughed.

They were by the exit now. Nearly Headless Nick had gone up to the stage. The music, thankfully, had stopped. Everyone had gathered on the dance floor so it wasn't as cold as it had been before.

"Yes. It's been out of order all y-year. She k-kept having t-tantrums and flooding the b-bathroom. It was extremely d-difficult going to the loo with h-her-"

"OK, we get the p-point Hermione," Harry cut in, avoiding her further embarrassment._ Maybe that was too much information….._

At that point, a hunting horn could be heard, reverberating around the walls. The guests looked excited. Nick didn't.

_"Hahaha!"_

The legendary Headless Horseman group jumped through the walls on their ghost horses. They all held their heads in their arms. Hermione saw Nicks face fall as they mocked him. She turned to Harry; as Ron was looking on in amusement.

"Shall we go? It's so cold, and we're all hungry," Hermione winced at the memory of the mouldy food she had spotted earlier.

Harry and Ron nodded and they slipped out unnoticed by the congregation of ghosts who were all enjoying the antics of Sir Patrick and his gang.

"Pudding might not be finished yet!" Ron said happy to be out of the cold. The further away from the dungeons, the warmer they got.

Ron led the way followed by Harry then Hermione.

They just stepped into the Entrance Hall when Harry stopped.

Hermione paused.

"Harry?"

Ron heard Hermione and turned around.

"Harry? What are you-"

Harry tore off up the marble staircase oblivious to the cries and yells of Hermione and Ron.

"Harry! Stop!"

"What's happening!"

"It's the voice again! Listen!"

_What voice? I can't hear anything!_

They ran after him up the moving staircases.

"It's going to kill someone!" Harry yelled to them.

_It's like he is possessed! Something's taken hold of him and he won't stop for anything! Oh Merlin._

They crashed through a door and finally stopped. Harry was standing in the middle of the corridor. His face was furrowed in concentration.

"I lost it. I lost it," muttered Harry.

"What the hell was that about?" Ron asked furiously.

Hermione stopped; her hands on her knees. She tried to catch her breath. Suddenly, her eyes focused to something in the distance.

"LOOK!" she screamed.

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Cedric was enjoying the feast. The atmosphere was happy, cosy. He was talking and laughing to his friends. Pudding arrived but Cedric found he couldn't eat anymore. He was full to bursting point.

The school stayed until the candles burnt low. Dumbledore stood up.

"Thank you to the Hogwarts kitchen staff was making this delightful meal. Everyone have a good night's sleep. School will resume as normal tomorrow morning.

A collective groan was heard throughout the room. Including Cedric and his friends. He had spent the day on the Quidditch Pitch with Tom, Claire, Daniel and Edward. He laughed till he cried when he saw Claire attempt to fly a room by herself. She was afraid of heights and was only on there because Tom had persuaded her to fly once around the edge of the pitch. Needless to say, she didn't do it on her own, but held tightly onto Tom instead while he zoomed around the pitch.

It was a relaxing day. The weather had been slightly better than the day before. The mist had cleared up but it was still cold. Their noses and cheeks were pink when they arrived back in their common room before heading down to the feast.

The students filed out. Cedric was one of the last people to leave; he had been sitting the furthest away from the entrance. By the time he made it to the Entrance Hall he heard people muttering.

"First floor!"

"Near Myrtles bathroom!"

"Mrs Norris!"

"The Chamber of Secrets!"

Intrigued, Cedric and Tom left the group of Hufflepuffs and slipped up to the first floor. A crowd had gathered. They made their way to the front of the crowd the same time Dumbledore and some of the teachers arrived.

He saw the writing on the wall.

He saw Mrs Norris.

He heard Draco Malfoy say, "You'll be next, Mudbloods."

Then his eyes fell on the three students alone standing next to the frozen cat.

Gryffindors.

He saw Harry first. Then Ron. Then he gasped when he saw who the last person was.

_Hermione._

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	14. Chapter 14: Curiosity

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter World. Simple. ****_I got the information of the Chamber of Secrets from and the Harry Potter wiki._**

_Hey guys, thanks for the reviews: CFCRockAngel (who also beta'ed this chapter and came up with the marvellous idea of Harry sprouting wings haha,) yellow 14 and JBChicK._

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Chapter 14: Curiosity

Cedric stood motionless staring at the scene in bewilderment. There was a buzz in the air as every single student tried to comprehend the scene in front of them. 'The Chamber Of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware', was written in what appeared to be blood. Mrs Norris hung by her tail on the wall below the message. The infamous Harry Potter, with his sidekicks by his side, was fully surrounded.

He heard Filch scream abuse at the Gryffindors; he was understandably in grief - his beloved pet looked as though she had died. Professor Dumbledore arrived; his face wore a tired and grim expression. _Had this happened before?_

Cedric and Tom moved aside when the dim Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher bounded onto the scene, ushering the Headmaster and the three troublemakers away to his office. Professor Dumbledore ordered everyone to go to their common rooms.

Cedric saw Hermione's pale face as she walked past him. She was trembling, and looked as though she was going to faint.

"Come on Ced, let's get out of here," muttered Tom in his ear. The students were all moving in different directions, they had also finally managed to find their voices. They gossiped and speculated to their friends about what had just happened. Cedric and Tom found a stream of Hufflepuffs and joined the line to get to their common room.

_What would happen to them? To Hermione? Why did they do it? How did they do it? _The questions repeated in an endless pattern as they arrived in the common room. Cedric ignored the worried glances from his friends and escaped the babble of noise of the common room as he pulled the hangings around his bed. He lay there, fully clothed, waiting for one of his friends to come in.

No-one did. Cedric smiled and closed his eyes. He was asleep in seconds.

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Over the next few days, the only thing everyone talked about was the attack on Mrs Norris. Filch made sure the attack was still remembered even after Dumbledore explained the morning after that she had been petrified. Every time Cedric or one of his friends walked past the 2nd floor, they had to pass Filch scowling at them, as he attempted to scrub the message off the wall. After three days, it was still there, shining in the light. He was not in a good mood. On Thursday afternoon Tom had come into the common room, fuming.

"That git Filch put me in detention for _breathing loudly_. Breathing loudly! It's not my fault I was late to Arithmancy and ran up the stairs…" Tom ranted to anyone that was nearby and who would listen for the rest of the night.

The attack had already become wildly embellished. Some claimed that they had seen the attack. He vividly remembered overhearing a conversation between two first year Hufflepuffs while he was on his way to Herbology. He remembered laughing as the large curly haired boy boasted to the smaller Hufflepuff that the he had seen Harry sprout wings and sing a deranged lullaby to Mrs Norris before he fled off into the night sky leaving Mrs Norris so petrified that she could never listen to cheerful music again. Others, however, decided to spread plausible explanations to their friends. The most common one was that they had seen Harry pounce on Mrs Norris with determination etched on his face. He shouted an unknown spell as Hermione and Ron laughed and egged him on. Cedric felt disgusted whenever he heard a new theory._ It was probably an act of passion; Harry can't control his anger very well._

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A week went by without any more information on the attack. Cedric woke up abruptly. He hadn't slept properly for a week. Hermione's terrified face kept appearing in his dreams.

He rubbed his eyes trying to focus and then remembered what he had planned to do. He had finally gotten hold of _'Hogwarts A History'_ and he desperately wanted to know more about the Chamber of Secrets.

He summoned the book from his open trunk and began reading.

The first chapter was a brief overview of how Hogwarts began.

_"Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago - the precise date is uncertain - by the four greatest wizards of the age. The four school houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin._

_They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people and witches and wizards suffered much persecution. For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them up to the castle to be educated. Each had their own qualities for their students. Godric Gryffindor liked the brave, Rowena Ravenclaw seeked the smartest, Salazar Slytherin admired those with ambition and Helena Hufflepuff took the rest and treated them all the same._

_But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families._

_He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school."_

_Go to page 261 for more information on the Four Founders._

Cedric frantically turned the pages; he loved to read and always became absorbed into the world of the book. He could never put a good book down unless he had to.

He found the page and turned over a couple more until he saw the title, _Salazar Slytherin._

_Salazar Slytherin was a great wizard of Medieval times (dates unknown). He was a Parselmouth and skilled at Legilimency. He was one of the four founders of Hogwarts._

_Slytherin selected members of his House. The qualities which he prized in his "handpicked students" included resourcefulness, determination, and a certain disregard for the rules, along with the ability to speak parseltongue. He also selected his students according to cunning, ambition, and Blood purity. His House within Hogwarts is symbolised by a serpent, with House colours of green and silver._

_Many rumours and legends state that when Slytherin and Gryffindor had the argument which ended the harmony of Hogwarts, he stormed out the castle. However, he had already had his revenge. The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the others knew nothing. Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school._

_The heir alone would be able to unleash the horror within and purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic." _

_Please remember. This is not a fact. It is often used as a reason why Slytherin did not seek any revenge on Gryffindor or Hogwarts._

That was the end of information on the Chamber of Secrets myth. Cedric closed the book and looked at his alarm clock. Half an hour had passed since he had woken up. He felt alert and decided, since he didn't have to be at breakfast for another hour, he would take the book back to the library. It was 6 o' clock. That was when Madam Pince opened the huge, wooden doors.

He slipped out of his bed and quickly changed into his school robes. Cedric picked up the book and made his way to the library. It was a short trip, not ten minutes had passed since he got out of his warm four-poster bed.

The library was already open. He saw some studious seventh years already sitting at desks, making notes on books. He also saw other students, all of which were hurrying to finish an essay no doubt for the first lesson. He smiled to himself.

He handed the book to Madam Pince who smiled genuinely back at him. Not many adults disliked him. It was almost impossible to do so. He always made sure to finish his homework, always to the highest standard. Cedric had made sure of this since his terrifying ordeal in first year when he didn't complete an essay for Snape _and_ McGonagall in one day. His hearing had never been the same since.

Madam Pince liked him because he was always polite and tidied the books away after him. She had never had to pounce on him and send him out the library for disobeying her rules.

Cedric had some time to kill. He wandered through the shelves, picked a curious looking book and settled down at his favourite desk for a little light reading.

A few minutes had past when suddenly he heard panting. Cedric heard a garbled request and turned around. He could see the desk perfectly well.

"Excuse me Miss Granger; I couldn't quite understand you the first time."

"Has- a-copy- of Hogwarts A History- become available- yet?" Hermione asked breathlessly. It was clear she had run down from her dormitory to make sure she was one of the first in the library. She was only wearing one slipper.

"Ahh yes, one has become available recently. This morning in fact. Mr Diggory was kind enough to return it after one day." Madam Pince nodded in the direction of Cedric. Hermione turned around, blushed, and then faced the librarian once more.

"Could I please take it out? My name is on the waiting list. It won't take me long to read it. I could read it now and give it back before breakfast." Hermione asked hastily.

Madam Pince nodded and handed her the book. Hermione beamed and turned round looking for a nearby seat.

Cedric smiled at her and gestured her to sit at her desk. Hermione blushed again and sat down nervously next to him. She quickly opened the book and scanned the pages.

"Hey Hermione," Cedric said. _I haven't seen her since that night. I wonder what she knows. She is obviously looking for information on the Chamber of Secrets._

"Oh. Hi Cedric," she replied without looking at him. She was engrossed. _I'll talk to her when she is finished_. He picked up his book again and carried on reading. Finally, when Cedric was on chapter sixteen, he heard a sigh and a book placed on the desk. He looked up; she was staring at the book.

"Found what you were looking for?" he asked her.

She nodded, "Yes thanks."

Cedric was confused with her short responses. _Why isn't she talking properly to me?_

"Anything the matter?" he asked, trying to get a decent reply out of her.

Hermione's head shot up. Her eyes refocused.

"What? No. Why would anything be the matter? I'm fine. Great. Spectacular-"

"Hermione, you're a terrible liar," Cedric cut her off.

"I am? Damn, must work on that."

"So, what's up?"

"Oh nothing really. I'm glad I finally remember the story though. It's been torture having to wait this long for a copy of the book," Hermione laughed.

"Don't you have your own copy?"

"I do, but I left it at home. I couldn't fit it in with all my Lockhart books."

"Ugh, Lockhart, he is without a doubt the worst Defence teacher I've ever had," Cedric grimaced, "There was only one time where we actually attempted to do magic. He taught us the Disarming Spell. Well attempted too, he said how it was a_ complex_ spell but was vital for later life. He was about to disarm Logan - he is the dumbest wizard I've ever seen, seriously - and then Logan yelled _Expelliarmus_ and he disarmed Lockhart with such force that he fell back and hit the wall, causing one of his _beloved_ portraits to fall and crack. It was hilarious! Needless to say, he decided to retell his stories instead. I think that any more practical lessons would bruise his ego _a bit_ too much."

Hermione blushed and laughed along with him.

"That does sound funny. He set Cornish pixies on us one lesson. They got the better of him and he hid in his office while Ron, Harry and I put them back in the cage. He tries his best," Hermione said in an effort to defend the teacher.

Cedric noticed.

"You're not defending him are you?"

Hermione blushed yet again. _This must be fourth time today she's blushed!_

"No...of course not."

"Yes you are! Do you _like_ him or something? Is it his good looks? Charming smile? Heroic deeds?" Cedric sniggered.

Hermione shoved him and snorted, "Shut up Cedric. He complimented me on the first lesson - the one with the pixies. I like getting compliments. And yes, his smile is _very_ charming."

"Very charming? Are you referring to the fact he has won Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile award five times in a row?"

"Of course," she replied sarcastically, "How did you know?"

"He mentions it nearly every lesson."

"Oh."

They both laughed.

They sat in silence for a moment. They heard scurrying feet, loud chatter. Hogwarts was awake, and it was breakfast time.

"So…shall we go to breakfast?" Hermione asked Cedric.

"How about we grab a bit of toast and go for a walk around the lake? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Sure," Hermione smiled. She got up and returned the book to Madam Pince then walked out of the library with Cedric.

* * *


	15. Chapter 15: Disbelief

**Disclaimer: The only thing I have in common with JKR is the fact that I adore the characters of the Harry Potter World. I didn't create it. I didn't write the books. I just bought them and fell in love with them. Not a crime is it?**

_**Hey guys. Again. Thanks for the reviews: JBChicK, yellow 14, CFCRockAngel, Mwhahahaha18 and **__**Hermione'sBFF454- you reviewed twice! 'hugs'. Keep them coming!**_

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_Chapter 15: Disbelief_

Cedric led Hermione to his table while he grabbed a rack of toast. They both smiled at Tom and Claire- the only ones up so far- and then they left the Great Hall quickly.

Cedric pushed open the large doors and felt the cold breeze sting his face.

"Damn, I forgot how cold it would be," he muttered.

Hermione touched his arm, "Don't worry, we'll just keep walking."

They both became aware of their contact. Hermione hastily removed her hand and grabbed a piece of toast instead.

"So, was there anything in particular you wanted to talk about?" Hermione asked, trying to alleviate the awkward tension which hung in the air. Cedric thought for a moment. _I really want to ask her about that night, but will she talk to me about it? What happens if she doesn't tell me what I want to know? Will she be mad at me?  
_

"Umm, just want to know how you've been really. I haven't seen you for a while. Anything interesting happened in the past week?" he asked breezily. Trying not to let her realise he wanted to know something in particular. It didn't work.

"Well, we went to Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday party last week. It was…..fun." she replied, avoiding the hidden question.

"A Deathday party? Fun? Somehow I don't believe those two could be in the same reply."

"Well, OK, it wasn't fun. Insightful, interesting, cold yes. But fun? Not so much. We left early; Ron wanted to get back to the feast to see if there was any pudding left."

"Ahh Ron, ruled by his stomach," Cedric laughed, taking another piece of toast from the rack.

"Yep, that's Ron for you."

They continued to walk around part of the lake, coming close to where they had almost kissed at the beginning of the year. Cedric remembered and decided to turn back. It must be getting closer to lesson times.

"So what about you Cedric? Anything interesting happen with you?" Hermione asked.

_This is so awkward. We're making small talk again. I should just ask her about it. We both know that's what I want to know._

"Not really, just been thinking about Mrs Norris a lot," he said slowly. Hermione tensed up. Her body language clearly showed she didn't want to talk about it.

"Yeah. Same here. Gryffindor is playing Slytherin soon. Harry and the team have been practising a lot," Hermione replied, changing the subject. But Cedric wasn't going to have any of it.

"What happened that night Hermione? What did you do?"

Hermione stopped. Her face flushed with rage.

"What do you mean what did we do? Are you seriously asking me that? Do you believe all those stupid rumours or something?" she asked angrily.

"No. I-I don't know. I don't know what to believe. Just tell me what happened."

"Why should I? It's obvious you believe that Harry attacked her. He didn't. We found her. Happy? Nothing dodgy. Harry didn't creep up on her while we laughed. He didn't torture her. We just came to the passageway and saw her there."

"Why were you there though? I thought you were going to the Great Hall to catch the end of the feast?" Cedric asked, slightly confused. _That is a big detour to the Great Hall._

"Well-we….we were."

"Right," Cedric said._ Why don't I believe her? This is Hermione here! She wouldn't do anything like that. But it wasn't her. It was Harry. They're always getting into trouble._

"You don't believe me do you? Why not? Harry would never do something like that. We were coming up from the party and-" Hermione stopped.

"You don't believe me, so why am I bothering to tell you. Just-just believe all those rumours OK? It will sound awful if I tell you what really happened," Hermione yelled as she ran away from him. Cedric looked on, flabbergasted._ What was that all about? She clearly doesn't want to tell me something. Why not? Doesn't she trust me? I thought we were friends. I thought we would be- No. I'll leave it. If she doesn't want to confide in me, then fine. I'll just do as she said._

_But I don't want to. I want to believe her! But I can't if she won't tell me the whole truth._

Cedric was approaching the castle now. Breakfast had finished. Students were trailing out of the Great Hall, on the way to their first lesson.

He ran down to the common room and grabbed his bag before sprinting up to Transfiguration. Thankfully he wasn't that late. He just earned a death glare from McGonagall._ It could have been worse._

_

* * *

  
_

Hermione continued to run, trying to calm herself. She was getting herself into a state over Cedric. Again._ I couldn't tell him. I couldn't tell him that Harry heard voices and we followed them. I couldn't tell him about our thoughts of who the Heir of Slytherin was. And our decision to brew Polyjuice Potion to sneak into the Slytherin common room and interrogate Malfoy. He would disagree and try and persuade me to not do it. Or he wouldn't believe me. Or he would tell someone._

_Come on. This is Cedric I'm talking about. He wouldn't do it- would he?_

She decided to not think about it anymore. It caused her head to ache.

Her first lesson was History of Magic_- joy._

As usual, Binns glided in through the blackboard. This had amused the class a year ago, but now it was tedious.

Hermione, being Hermione, began to take notes on yet more Goblin Rebellion wars- it seemed that all they did in History of Magic was study Goblin Rebellion Wars, or Giant wars. Wizard's history was full of bloodshed.

The usual sleepiness began to fall on the class. Even Hermione, in a fragile state of mind, began to drift off. She needed to do something about it. Even though she remembered the story, she decided to ask Professor Binns about it, and see how much he referred to '_Hogwarts A History'_.

"Excuse me? Professor Binns?" she asked. Her voice rang clearly throughout the classroom.

Several students woke up abruptly, including Ron and Harry.

Professor Binns looked shocked; he seemed to suddenly notice there were students in his classroom. Hermione stifled a giggle.

"Yes Miss-Miss-"

"Miss Granger. I was wondering, due to certain events, and a lack of copies of 'Hogwarts A History' in the library, if you could possibly tell us about the Chamber of Secrets?"

The atmosphere in the classroom suddenly became alive with excitement. Professor Binns looked as if he was going to die from shock- if a ghost could die.

"The-The Chamber of Secrets Miss Grant? I teach History of Magic. Facts. The Chamber of Secrets is simply a legend. Please can I get back to teaching Miss Green?"

He started to drone on again, but Hermione wouldn't take no for an answer. _Anything to take my mind of _him.

"But Professor? Don't all myths have an element of truth in?"

"I-Ye-No-I-Of course," Binns stuttered, seemingly lost for words, "Miss Grover, I will indulge you just this once. Then I will resume stating proven facts."

The whole class was awake now. They were sitting on the edges of their seats. Finally, they might listen to something interesting for a change.

Whilst Professor Binns began to explain the legend, Hermione was welcome for the distraction. Her thoughts kept straying to Cedric. How he had looked when she yelled at him. _He just wanted to know, he was confused. Why didn't I tell him? What was I expecting him to say? I knew he wanted to know about it when he asked to go for a walk. I should have just told him. It would have been nice to talk about it with someone else. Hearing voices isn't a good thing. Maybe Cedric would have known something about it. I should have told him! But I was scared. Scared he wouldn't believe me, or reject me. I couldn't bear it if he thought I was lying, or worse, if he believed that Harry was a monster._

She didn't hear Binns finish his brief lecture on the Chamber of Secrets. She didn't notice heads loll and sleepiness drift down again like fog onto the students. She was lost in her own personal torture.

-

After that never-ending lesson, Hermione decided she would tell Cedric. Everything. She hated purposely lying to him. They had gotten so close and it nearly broke her heart to keep secrets from him. She decided she would find him in the next few days and pray to Merlin that he would forgive her.

However, when she arrived back into the common room after dinner, she spotted a new announcement on the notice book. It told the students of a Duelling Club that would be held tomorrow night in the Great Hall.

"Sounds interesting," remarked Harry.

"Shall we go?" Ron enquired.

Hermione nodded, in times like this, knowing some defensive and offensive spells might help them.

Harry, Ron and Hermione discussed Duelling until the common room thinned and Hermione declared it was time for bed. She bid the boys goodnight and fell asleep quickly, thoughts of duelling and learning new spells filled her head.

The morning dawned. Hermione yawned and realised she was later than usual. _Must have been yesterday- it was pretty eventful._

She hastily washed and got dressed and tried to tame her hair slightly before streaking out of the common room and down the stairs.

The Great Hall was packed and she managed to spot Harry and Ron sitting near the doors. She sat down and grabbed a bowl of porridge.

"Hey guys," she said as she spooned the porridge.

"Where were you? You're actually later than us for a change," laughed Ron.

"I was tired, overslept," Hermione grimaced.

She finished her porridge then proceeded to eat an apple.

"My my my, aren't we hungry today," Harry chuckled.

Hermione ignored the comment. A bell nearby sounded and lesson one was about to start.

"Shall we go then? We don't want to be late for Snape," said Hermione as she put the core into her bowl.

"Sure," they replied and they got up. Hermione noticed Cedric glancing at her from the Hufflepuff table. She smiled shyly at him, hoping to convey that she wasn't mad anymore. It didn't seem to work. Cedric dropped his gaze and turned to talk to Tom. Claire noticed and waved at her. Hermione, glad someone wasn't annoyed with her, waved back.

"Who you waving to Hermione?" asked Harry curiously.

"Oh, just Claire. I think Cedric is annoyed at me," Hermione said sadly.

Harry looked at Claire. He smiled then the strangest thing happened. She froze and immediately looked away from him. Like….she was afraid.

"Did you see that?" Harry asked, shocked.

"What?" Ron and Hermione said in unison.

"….Claire, when I smiled at her, she looked away, as if she was scared of me or something."

Ron's brow furrowed.

"Why?"

Harry shrugged. "Maybe she believes all those rumours."

"Don't be absurd, Claire wouldn't believe that about you. You're her friend and vice versa," Hermione stated.

"I guess, it doesn't explain that look she gave me."

They walked down to Potions in silence.

* * *

Cedric felt Claire stiffen beside him. He looked at her, perplexed.

"What was that about?" Cedric asked her.

"Oh.......it's nothing. It was just a involuntary reaction. Harry looked at me. Ever since Mrs Norris was attacked, whenever I see him I freeze. He has been in so much danger, and caused so much trouble in less than two years, I just….get scared when he looks at me…." Claire murmured, sounding embarrassed. Cedric hugged her briefly then the three of them got up to go to Charms.

* * *

That night, nearly the whole school turned up to see who would be teaching them how to duel.

Hermione came down with Harry and Ron and the other Gryffindors then snagged a space near the front where the demonstration would be held. The usual house tables had vanished and instead, there was a long golden stage in the middle of the hall.

"I wonder who will be teaching us," mused Hermione, "Someone suggested Flitwick. Apparently he was a duelling champion when he was younger, it could be him."

"As long as it isn't-" Harry began, but then ended with a groan. Hermione looked up and saw Professor Lockhart appear wearing deep plum coloured robes. Snape followed demurely behind, wearing his usual black attire. They strode onto the stage. Lockhart was beaming and waved his hands in the air.

"Gather round, gather round! Can everyone hear me? Can everyone see me? Good. Welcome everyone, to Hogwarts Duelling Club. The Headmaster has granted me permission to start a duelling club, he agrees with me that everyone needs to know how to duel, it is necessary for later life, as I have shown in my books," he flashed a dazzling smile. Hermione felt her heart flutter in spite of herself.

"I am joined tonight by Professor Snape, who tells me he knows a little bit about duelling and has agreed to share his knowledge."

Hermione saw Snape curl his lips into a grimace. _I wouldn't want to be looked at by Snape like that if I was about to duel him. I hope Professor Lockhart doesn't get hurt._

She saw Lockhart and Snape move several steps apart and bowed to each other; Lockhart bowed with lots of twirls and spins why Snape just jerked his head. They raised their wands until they were the same height as their heads.

Lockhart explained, "You can see that we are standing with our wands held in the acceptable duelling position. On the count of three, we will cast our first spell. We only want to defend ourselves, not harm the opponent in any way."

They locked eyes. Hermione put her hands to her face to shield the view. She was afraid to look. _What if Snape attacked him? He clearly detests him, I don't know why though- he is so brave, so handsome, no matter what Cedric says._

"One! Two! THREE!" cried Lockhart.

Snape bellowed, "_Expelliarmus_!"

She heard a large bang and a groan. She peeped through her open fingers and saw Lockhart sprawled on the floor. Snape had used the Disarming Spell, a very powerful one in fact. The force had knocked him to the ground.

"Is he OK?" she squealed as she heard the Slytherins and other male students laugh loudly.

"Who cares?" replied Ron and Harry grinning madly.

She opened her eyes properly and removed her hands.

Professor Lockhart was back on his feet and searching for his wand. Lavender gave it back to him and Hermione saw her tremble and giggle when he touched her hand. _I'm not jealous….not at all…._

Lockhart thanked her and decided to split everyone into pairs and practise using_ Expelliarmus._

Snape spotted Hermione, Ron and Harry and made a direct beeline_. Uh oh, this doesn't look good. _

"It's time to split up the dream team. Weasley partner Finnegan," Snape sneered. Hermione felt Harry slide closer to her.

"No no Potter. You will partner Mr Malfoy and Miss Granger….. you can partner Miss Bulstrode."

Hermione saw Millicent, a second year Slytherin march over to her. She gulped and attempted to smile. Millicent glared back and moved to a spot a bit further away from Malfoy and Harry.

"Face your partners, and bow!" called Lockhart, who was already on the stage.

She held her wand and bowed to the large girl. She didn't reply and stood there, sulkily. _If looks could kill….I would have died by now…._

"Wands at the ready! Remember, it's to disarm only, we don't want to cause any accidents now do we?" Lockhart shouted.

Millicent growled and Hermione whimpered._ It's OK Hermione, just keep a cool head, she can't hurt you-_

"GO!"

Millicent charged at Hermione, seeming to forget she had a wand in her hand. It looked like she was going to use pure physical force. _What is she doing?! Why is she charging at me?_

"Protego!" Hermione cried, in an effort to protect herself. Unfortunately, the Shield Charm only worked with spells. It offered no help to protect the caster from a charging Slytherin.

Millicent hit Hermione hard in the stomach. Hermione dropped her wand in shock as she doubled over. She tried to protect her head as Millicent kicked her. She screamed and tried to claw herself up. She heard Lockhart yelling at everyone to calm down but seemed to wash over Millicent. She continued to hurt Hermione, pulling her into a headlock and yanking at her hair.

"Stop! I said to disarm only!" Lockhart cried, sounding panicked.

No-one paid attention. Hermione began screaming again and tried to defend herself but Millicent's grip was too tight. She heard cries of "Hermione!" around her but she couldn't see who was calling her.

Finally, Millicent's grip loosened. Hermione collapsed to the ground, trying to catch her breath and assess the damage. Her head hurt and so did her stomach but that seemed to be it.

Harry ran over to her and pulled her up. She reassured him that she was fine and together they moved away from Millicent, who was still growling at her. _What is her problem?_

"Dear dear. I think I should teach you how to block unfriendly spells," Lockhart said, looking quite unsure of himself as he stood in the middle of the room surrounded by groaning students.

"Shall we have a volunteer couple? Professor Snape, why don't you choose a pair?"

Snape's lip curled again and chose Harry and Malfoy. Hermione wished him luck and moved over to stand next to Ron. Ron was nursing a split lip.

"My ruddy wand, how do they expect me to cast magic properly? I nearly blew Seamus up!"

Hermione laughed then turned to watch Harry. _I hope he will be OK. Malfoy is vicious. _

"Three-two-one-go!" Lockhart bellowed.

Hermione gasped as Malfoy shouted, "_Serpensortia!"_

A great big snake fell out of Malfoy's wand and hissed. It raised itself and prepared to strike.

All the girls screamed and even most of the boys paled.

Snape said lazily, "I'll get rid of it," but Lockhart decided he would get rid of it himself. He flicked the wand at the snake.

But instead of vanishing, the black snake rose ten feet into the air before landing with a thud back down. Hermione watched horrified as the snake directed itself to a Hufflepuff in her year. She remembered talking to him in Herbology. He was a Muggleborn, like herself.

The crowd backed further away.

Harry, ignoring the teachers' instructions, moved closer to it. _What is he doing?! He will get himself killed! Move away Harry Move-_

A strangled cry came out of Harry. He was twisting his mouth into unusual patterns and hissed.

The crowd fell silent.

Harry continued to speak like this. _Oh Merlin. This doesn't look good._

The snake moved closer to Justin Finch-Fletchly. The crowd held its breath. Then the snake slumped to the floor. Harry seemed to be commanding it. _But to do what?_

Harry turned towards them. He smiled proudly. But Hermione couldn't bring herself to smile back.

"In the name of Merlin," whispered Ron.

"What?" replied Hermione, her voice was hoarse. She was in astonishment.

"Harry is a Parselmouth."

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_**Like it? I will update soon hopefully, have already started the next chapter.**_

_**Review please!**_


	16. Chapter 16: Trouble Part One

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter, I can't make up a world that is just amazingly awesome :p.**

**Hey guys, sorry it's taken me so long to write, just the same excuses as everyone else; busy with school. It's my exams year so I have lots of coursework etc. **

**Thanks to reviewers: crazedchick, CFCRockAngel, JB ChicK, yellow 14 and Mwhahahaha18.**

**Also thanks to Margaritalimes who reviewed an earlier chapter and said that she was impressed with my writing style! –blushes-. Thanks –smiles-.**

**OK, you've waited long enough, here is the chapter. It's a short one, sorry.**

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Chapter 16: Trouble Part One

Cedric watched as the long black snake rounded on Justin. He desperately wanted to run and help him but he didn't know how- and he definitely didn't want to make things worse. _Whenever Harry is around, all he causes is trouble. And everytime, he has been forgiven. How will he get himself out of this one?_

He heard a strangled cry. Cedric realised that Harry was talking to the snake. _Just like Salazar Slytherin himself. Is he a Parselmouth? Why is he egging the snake on? Why he is going to harm Justin- he hasn't done anything to hurt him._

Everyone round him gasped. The snake hissed fiercely and showed his fangs. Cedric saw Justin flinch, and his knuckles went white as he clenched them. He was deathly pale. _Why isn't anyone doing anything about this? Why hasn't Snape or even Lockhart tried to save Justin? Why is everyone just watching him?_ Cedric made to help Justin but Tom pulled him back.

"What are you doing? You can't help him. You'll just make things worse," Tom said in a low voice, so no-one could hear.

"I can't just stand around and watch something terrible happen. I have to try," Cedric replied forcefully. He attempted to wrench himself out of Toms grip but he was stronger than him. Cedric pulled but didn't get anywhere.

"Seriously Cedric. Don't."

"Fine," Cedric said in defeat.

He couldn't watch as the snake started to lunge forward. He heard Harry repeat his strange strangled cries. Suddenly, there were more gasps. _Had the snake attacked Justin?_ But they weren't gasps of horror, they were of relief.

Cedric faced the scene again and saw Harry looking strangely pleased with himself. The snake was curled on the ground. Snape walked forward and uttered a spell. The snake vanished. Justin unclenched his fists. His shoulders relaxed. He stood as still as a statue, trying to understand what had just happened. Then he looked up at Harry.

"What do you think you're playing at?!" Justin cried. He, along with Ernie, Hannah and Susan dashed out of the hall. Cedric saw Harry look around and confusion appeared in his features. He stepped down from the stage and stood with Hermione and Ron. Hermione looked astonished and slightly frightened. _Does she know what Harry was? _Cedric gazed at her and she seemed to realise someone was looking at her. She yelped and her eyes focused on Cedric on the other side of the stage about 10 feet to her right. She looked at him for a moment and then let herself be dragged out by Ron. The look on her face- he couldn't describe it. It was a mixture between terror and uncertainty. _Like she was scared about something. Was she scared __over__ Harry? Or __for__ him?_

"Well. That was certainly an….. interesting meeting. I think I will have to let you know whether this club will continue, after we speak with the headmaster about the incident. Professor Snape, will you follow me please? Let's go see the headmaster together," Lockhart said, looking dumbfounded. Snape nodded curtly and followed Lockhart quickly out of the Great Hall.

"Come on, let's go back to the common room," said Claire quietly. They agreed and the three of them made their down the small dimly lit corridor.

The Hufflepuff common room was filling up. Many had stayed behind in order to catch up with some work or they just wanted to have the common room to themselves. Hufflepuff was a large house, larger than Gryffindor. Claire saw their friends and the trio sat down in the corner.

"How was the club?" asked Edward, he had stayed behind to write an essay for Arithmancy as had Daniel. Lucy and Emma looked up as well.

"….It was definitely interesting….." replied Cedric slowly.

"Something happened which we didn't expect," said Tom.

Claire nodded. Her eyes flashed with anger.

"What happened?" asked Daniel excitedly.

"Harry happened," Claire said tersely.

"Harry? What did he do this time?" asked Edward, looking at Cedric. Cedric avoided his gaze.

"He caused trouble as usual. He set a snake on Justin, in the year below us" Claire said sharply. Cedric blinked at the anger in her voice. _What was her problem? Why is she getting emotional about this?_

"He was paired with Malfoy from Slytherin and he conjured a snake. No idea how he did it, that's a bit advanced for a second year. Anyway instead of letting the snake get vanished by Snape, he decided to have a bit of fun. He is a Parselmouth," explained Tom.

Everyone who didn't know this gasped in surprise.

"A Parselmouth?! But that's….that's what Salazar Slytherin can do. That's why the symbol for the Slytherin house is a snake. Why isn't he in Slytherin?" Edward exclaimed.

"I have no idea," replied Tom. Cedric was sitting in silence, deep in thought. The others decided not to disturb him but continued to talk about Harry and all his escapades.

After a while, when they had exhausted that particular topic, they called it a night and went to bed.

Cedric lay awake for a long time. So did Tom. His usual snores were absent that night.

"Do you think Harry is the Heir of Slytherin?" whispered Tom into the darkness.

"I don't know…..I just don't know," said Cedric. One thing he knew for certain, he had to talk to Hermione again.

* * *

Ron dragged Harry up the moving stairs with Hermione bounding alongside him. She was panicking. _Oh Harry! How could you have been so stupid? Why did you have to talk to the snake! Everyone who didn't believe you were the Heir of Slytherin will think you are now. Why couldn't you have let Snape or Lockhart deal with it? This is bad. Very bad._

_And the look on Cedrics face when he saw me. It was full of hatred, he hates me! I know he does. Why can't he just trust me? Why does he have to believe the rumours not his trustworthy friend? I thought we were close. But we obviously weren't, if he can't believe what I tell him. _

Ron pushed Harry into an armchair.

"Why didn't you tell us you were a Parselmouth?"

Harry gaped. "A what?"

A Parselmouth! You can talk to snakes!" Ron cried with disbelief.

"Oh that. I've only talked to snakes twice. I accidentally set a boa constrictor on Dudley once, it's a long story. He told me how he had never been to Brazil, and the glass just vanished….. I didn't know I was a wizard then," Harry said quickly. He didn't seem to understand how big a deal with was.

"A boa constrictor told you he had never been Brazil before…." Ron whispered in shock.

Hermione just wanted to shake Harry. He was being incredibly stupid._ How can't he see that this isn't a good thing?_

"Yeah, what's the big deal? I bet loads of people can do it here."

Ron and Hermione shook their heads.

"No, it's incredibly rare. It's bad Harry." Ron said grimly.

"Bad? Why? Why are you making a big deal out of this?" Harry said. Hermione knew he was beginning to feel angry. His voice was rising. "If I hadn't told the snake not to attack Justin-"

"Oh! That's what you said," Ron replied, realisation dawning.

"What do you mean? You heard what I said," Harry said in confusion.

"We heard you speaking Parseltongue. Snake language. You could have said anything and none of us would have known. It sounded as though you were egging him on or something-"

"Hang on. I spoke a different language? Without even realising it?" Harry asked.

Hermione looked away. Harry didn't understand why this was bad.

"Tell me why you're making a big deal out of this! Why does it matter?"

Hermione snapped.

"It matters because that's what Salazar Slytherin could do. He could talk to snakes. That's why the symbol of Slytherin house is a serpent."

Harry shook his head, "I'm not-"

"We don't know that. He lived over a thousand years ago. You could be. And that's what the whole school is going to think. That's why it's a big deal," Hermione retorted.

Harry sunk into the chair, trying to take it all in.

"Sorry for snapping at you Harry," Hermione said guiltily, "I'm scared for you. Everyone is going to think that you're the Heir of Slytherin. To them, this is proof."

He nodded. Ron looked sympathetic for once.

"Sorry mate."

"Well….this has been tiring. I'm going to get some sleep. Night Ron, night Harry," Hermione said, trying to stifle a yawn.

She got into her pyjamas and brushed her teeth in the bathroom. She slipped into the dormitory. Lavender and Parvati were gossiping- they hadn't noticed her come in. Since the whole attack on Mrs Norris thing happened, they had stopped talking to the trio less and less.

"-glad I got out when I did. Imagine your boyfriend being the Heir of Slytherin! Nightmare," Parvati whispered.

"I know. It would be worse if you were a Muggleborn, then he could attack you," replied Lavender quietly.

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut. Even Harry's ex girlfriend and her best friend didn't believe him. She wished they could go back to normal. _When we were all friends. I guess we're better off without them. They seem to only want to gossip. It's not like we could talk about anything exciting….._

Hermione rolled over loudly, alerting Parvati and Lavender to her presence. They had the decency to stop talking. Hermione sighed, and then fell into a deep sleep.

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	17. Chapter 17: Trouble Part Two

_**Disclaimer: Haven't you got the idea already? I've been repeating it for the past 16 chapters! I didn't create the Harry Potter or the amazingly complex characters. That was JK Rowling. I just marvel at her work and wish I could write like that.**_

_**Hey guys, thanks to everyone who reviewed: Margaritalimes, yellow 14, hansbmd, Mwahahaha18, CFCRockAngel and JB Chick. Keep them coming : )**_

_**Hope you like this chapter- I've been so busy I only wrote half until today. I hate Year 11 : (**_

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_Chapter 17: Trouble Part Two_

The next day dawned and everything was white. The snow that had started coming down the previous evening had turned into a full blown blizzard. That meant all outside classes were cancelled for that day. Cedric, who had double Herbology, took that double period to search for Hermione. He entered the library and noticed some second year Hufflepuff's huddled around a table between two of the shelves. They seemed oblivious to everything around them. Cedric overheard a small blonde haired girl say to one of the boys, "How is Justin holding up?"

"He's doing fine, of course he is worried. Anyone would be in his shoes," replied a pompous looking boy in hushed tones.

_Justin's afraid that he'll get attacked. Just like Mrs Norris and that first year Gryffindor last week. No wonder he's hiding._

He glanced around the library but couldn't see Hermione. He was just about to leave when the doors opened and Harry burst in.

Cedric quickly retreated and hid behind some shelves on the far side of the library- close to where the group were sitting. Cedric watched as Harry looked around, obviously looking for a certain someone. _One guess to who that certain someone was. What did Justin do to offend Harry?_

Harry strolled past them and Cedric noticed Harry stiffen slightly. He moved to the Invisibility section and, like Cedric, listened in on the conversation.

"Where is Justin anyway? Surely he'd be safe with us? No-one would hurt him when he was in a crowd would they Ernie?" whispered the small girl again.

"Hannah, don't be silly. A crowd of people wouldn't stop him. Did you see the look on his face last night? Pure evil. Justin is his next target, and he won't stop until he's harmed him. I told him to hide in his room; Harry can't exactly waltz into the Hufflepuff common room without attracting a lot of attention now can he?" The pompous boy called Ernie told Hannah sharply.

Cedric glanced up to see if he could spot Harry. He couldn't.

"I told Justin that he should lie low, only coming out for lessons for a while. Ever since Justin told Harry about him almost going to Eton, a Muggle school, he's been waiting for something like this to happen. Silly fool. What did he think would happen when the Heir of Slytherin knew he was a Muggleborn? That everything would be jolly and Harry wouldn't care?" Ernie muttered furiously.

"But why Harry? He seems so nice. How can you be sure _he is_ the Heir of Slytherin?" Hannah whispered anxiously.

"Don't be naïve. He's a Parselmouth. I can't think of one good wizard that can speak it. You Know Who obviously thought that Harry would be a powerful Dark Wizard, and sought him out early, before he could do any major damage to himself. Guess he was wrong. How else could a one year old have destroyed the most evil wizard ever?"

Cedric saw Harry burst out from his hiding place. _Obviously wants to deny everything. Can't he see that there is too much evidence? He should just admit it before anyone else gets hurt._

Cedric heard Harry say brightly, "Hi, I'm looking for Justin Flinch Fletchly?"

The reaction wasn't good. The Hufflepuff's gasped and they all stared at Harry. Cedric was torn between staying and hearing the rest of their conversation or seeking out Hermione. He could go check her common room; he could find a 3rd year Gryffindor no problem. Cedric debated for a moment then decided to leave. He slipped out of the library moments before Harry stormed out, looking mutinous.

* * *

Cedric walked into the Great Hall and saw, to his surprise, Hermione was there. She and Ron were playing wizards' chess. Cedric drew a deep breath to calm himself then ventured forward. Hermione looked up just in time to see him. She looked away quickly in time to see one of her pawns crushed and thrown off the board. She frowned, she didn't like losing, even if it was chess to Ron.

"Castle to E4," said Cedric clearly. Hermione couldn't ignore him. She met his eyes.

"Hey Cedric, I….didn't see you there. Thanks by the way," Hermione gestured to the board where Ron gasped. One of his pieces was destroyed and thrown off the board.

"No problem, you needed help. Anyway-" Cedric paused, "I need to talk to you."

Hermione flushed. "OK. Go ahead," she said.

"In private," Cedric said, "Sorry Ron."

Ron shrugged but the tips of his ears flushed red.

"Fine," Hermione sighed and left the table, leaving Ron a backwards glance as if to say she didn't want to be there.

"What do you want?" Hermione asked stiffly. She still hadn't forgotten their last encounter. And the argument they had.

"Hang on," Cedric replied, "in here."

Cedric pushed her into a vacant classroom off the Entrance Hall.

She turned to face him. "What do you want? Come to yell at me again?"

"Not if I can help it. I want to talk about last night."

Hermione gestured to him to continue.

"Harry's a Parselmouth," Cedric said.

Hermione nodded. She was determined not to say more than she had to.

"Did you know?" Cedric asked bluntly.

"No, I found out last night. He's only done it once before apparently," Hermione admitted.

"Why did he make the snake move to attack Justin?"

"He didn't. He was telling the snake to back off," Hermione retorted sharply.

"How do you know? He could be lying to you," Cedric suggested.

"How dare you accuse Harry of lying to me! And to Ron! He wouldn't do that. He doesn't lie to get himself out of trouble," Hermione said heatedly.

"Come on Hermione, everything points to Harry. That first year Gryffindor, the one who was petrified, he was pestering Harry for pictures and autographs. Next thing you know, BAM, he's petrified. He had a run in with Filch, BAM, Mrs Norris is petrified. Justin tells him that he was a Muggleborn, he gets a snake set on him. See what I mean?" Cedric argued.

"Just because those happened, doesn't mean it's true. They're coincidences. Harry didn't do it. How could he? He was either with me and Ron, or he was in the Hospital Wing after that rogue bludger hit him," Hermione said crossly.

Before Cedric could reply a loud shriek echoed in the classroom.

"ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO-ONE IS SAFE! ATTACK!"

Hermione clutched her mouth, horrified. _Oh Merlin, no. Not now!_

Cedric shot out of the door, with Hermione following closely.

They followed the screaming and found themselves by the Transfiguration classroom. A large crowd had already assembled there. Hermione pushed through and the sight nearly made her faint.

Harry was standing beside a petrified body looking bewildered. Nearly Headless Nick was floating in a circle, his head lolled to one side.

Harry moved slightly and Hermione moaned inwardly. The body on the ground belonged to Justin Flinch Fletchly.

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Cedric was by her side. A horrified look spread across his face. _I was right. The Hufflepuffs were right. Justin was Harry's next victim. What did he do to upset Harry?_

The second year Hufflepuff, Ernie, bellowed, "Ahh! Caught in the act!"

"That's enough Mr Macmillan," Professor McGonagall snapped. She snapped her fingers and told Harry to follow her. Hermione and Cedric watched on as Harry disappeared round the corner and out of sight.

* * *

Harry returned to the common room about an hour later. Hermione had left Cedric and hurried to find Ron before waiting in the common room. It was lunchtime, but neither of them felt hungry. It was the last day before the Christmas holidays begun. That afternoon was Defence Against the Dark Arts, then History of Magic, an enjoyable afternoon. Hermione started to say something but Harry stopped her. "Don't," he said and they sat in silence until the next lesson.

The attack was the most serious yet. Everyone wondered: what could petrify a ghost? It made people more scared and on the way to his lessons, and to dinner, he was met with stares and whispers. Hermione could tell that Harry hated it.

* * *

"Don't worry Harry, the holidays start tomorrow, there will be hardly any people," Hermione said soothingly. Harry nodded absentmindedly.

"And also, I think you'd like to know that the Polyjuice Potion is nearly ready," she said offhandedly. But Harry heard, he jumped and his eyes shone with excitement.

"Brilliant," Ron smiled.

"When can we use it?" Harry asked.

"Well all I need to do is let is add some beetle juice then let that stew for a few days so I'd say in 4 days?" Hermione replied. Harry and Ron grinned.

"Excellent, now all we need to do is find a way to get some hairs-" Harry started before Hermione interrupted.

"I've already thought of that. I made these a few days ago, cupcakes spiked with a mild sleeping potion. All you have to do is show them to Crabbe and Goyle then hide them away before taking their shoes and cloak."

Ron frowned.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I've already got mine. At the duelling club last night I realised that some of Millicent's hair had caught on my robe. I put it in a jar ready for the Potion," Hermione explained, wincing slightly at the memory.

"Oh. That's good then. So when the potion is ready, we'll show the cakes to the buffoons and then we'll question Malfoy," Harry smiled, rubbing his hands together.

"Can't wait," Ron agreed.

Hermione smiled, she was nervous obviously but she didn't want the boys to notice. How she wished she could talk to Cedric about this, but she couldn't. He didn't believe her when she said Harry wasn't behind the attacks. _He'll find out soon enough, he'll find out I was telling the truth….._

* * *

"I can't believe he found Justin!" Claire exclaimed that night in the Hufflepuff common room.

"I know, it's unbelievable- what did Justin ever do to him. And don't forget, he attacked Nearly Headless Nick too," Tom agreed.

"What I don't understand is why Hermione and Ron are still with Harry, he's obviously dangerous, why is she protecting him?" Cedric wondered.

"I know. I really like Hermione, Ron too. I did like Harry but now I know how dangerous he is, I'm scared to be near him. My friend is Muggleborn, and her sister is too," Claire admitted.

"Emma Clearwater's sister? The one in Ravenclaw?" Cedric asked.

"Yeah, Emma's terrified she'll be next," Claire said, her voice nearly breaking. Tom hugged her close and that seemed to calm her slightly.

_Everyone's getting into such a state over this. Why hasn't the Ministry intervened? Or why hasn't Dumbledore expelled Harry? Surely he has enough proof, or has Harry hoodwinked him somehow? _

_I hope no-one gets hurt. And I hope Hermione comes to her senses and extracts herself from Harry. _

Cedric suddenly realised something.

_Hermione is a Muggle-born. She isn't safe- she could get attacked by Harry. Maybe that's why she doesn't want to go against him. She's afraid she'll be next if he offends her. That's what happened to the victims so far._

_Merlin. Please stop Harry before it's too late._

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**_There you go, I don't think it's my best. What do you think?_**

**_How is the story going? I can't believe I'm still going and I haven't got bored yet. FanFiction is amazing!_**

**_I'd love your views on this chapter, anything I can do to improve? Anything you'd like me to include in the next chapter?_**

**_Cheers, see you soon!_**

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	18. Chapter 18: The Polyjuice Potion

_**Disclaimer:**__** Look on my page from now on- saves me having to write one for each chapter : )**_

**I'm really sorry for keeping everyone waiting. I've been really busy- my exams start next week and my social life has had its ups and downs which seemed to take up a lot of my time. Also, I had writers block on the first part of this chapter, I didn't know how to write it. And sorry if the timings are really out- I didn't plan it out properly and I really am not up to changing everything in previous chapters.**

**Hopefully you'll like the chapter- we've reached over 100 reviews! Thanks everyone who reviews every chapter, keep it up, I love knowing your opinion on this story. **

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_Chapter 18: The Polyjuice Potion_

The Christmas holidays arrived with a flurry of extra snow. It glistened in the sun and could be seen from every window in the castle.

As she had been doing every single morning for a week, Hermione found herself in Moaning Myrtle frantically stirring the cauldron brimming with Polyjuice Potion. She had been up for two hours, slowly adding pinches of Knotgrass. Her arm ached from continual stirring but she couldn't stop. The slightest slip would ruin the whole Potion and Hermione couldn't bear to disappoint Harry and Ron.

_Just a few more days, and then we can find out all about Draco and the Chamber of Secrets. I can handle that._

When she had added all the Knotgrass, Hermione slipped out of the bathroom and hurried down to breakfast. Ron and Harry were already there with the rest of the Weasley family. They were the only ones in Gryffindor; everyone else had gone home for Christmas. She greeted them and sat down, helping herself to some pancakes.

Harry smiled at her and leant close to her. From the opposite side of the table, Ron leant inconspicuously over the fruit bowl to hear their conversation.

"How is the potion doing?" Harry murmured. Hermione glanced at him, his eyes shining with excitement. Ron shared the same expression.

"It's doing really well. It should be ready in a few days," Hermione smiled.

Harry quickly counted the days in his head, "But that's around Christmas Day!"

"Well you could drink it now and be horribly disfigured or god knows what for the rest of your life if you are so impatient Harry. You need to understand that it's an extremely dangerous Potion- anything could go wrong and I couldn't bear it if something happened to you two-"

"OK Hermione, I'm sorry. Don't get upset, it's just the fact the tomorrow is Christmas Eve, I'd rather it be sooner rather than later," Harry muttered quickly, afraid if Hermione rose her voice any higher the others would notice.

"It's fine," Hermione replied.

"So what do you want to do today?" Ron asked.

"Well I don't know about you George, but I'm in the mood for some Exploding Snap. Ronald dear, are you up for a round?" Fred said loudly, grinning from ear to ear. Ron was hopeless at Exploding Snap and it amused the twins greatly to see him lose some eyebrows or occasionally watch as fire erupted on his bright red hair.

"Don't call me Ronald," Ron muttered through gritted teeth.

Hermione watched on amused as George ruffled his hair.

"Sorry ickle Ronnikins. Is that better" He smirked.

Everyone laughed as Ron attempted to punch his older brother and missed, his fist landed in the butter dish instead.

The already thin crowd of students and disappeared and soon Hermione, Harry and the Weasleys were the last ones in the hall. They all strolled up to the Gryffindor common room to spend a quiet day without the rest of the Gryffindor population. With all that had happened that school year already- nobody wanted to stay in school unless they had to. This was great news for Harry because Hermione knew he was getting sick of constant stares ever since Halloween.

Soon it was evening and Fred and George were running throughout Gryffindor Tower having a play sword fight, much to the enjoyment of everyone except Percy.

Percy was taking his fifth year particularly seriously and did not want to be disturbed while he worked in his dormitory. Even Hermione found this quite odd- it was nearly Christmas and no matter what anyone else thought, she was not going to do any work until after Christmas was over. She wanted to spend some time with her friends, not agonising over the current situation. The current situation being that the Harry was the suspected Heir of Slytherin, a certain Hufflepuff wasn't talking to her and she was brewing an immensely complicated potion in a haunted bathroom. Talk about stress.

She retired early as she had to be up early again tomorrow morning to add some pinedew to the potion. She was the only girl in second year to stay and fell asleep quickly because of it. She didn't have to listen to Parvati and Lavenders gossiping for hours.

* * *

She awoke to distant owls hooting as they made their way back from hunting. Hermione gazed out the window and was amazed of how white it was. A thick blanket of snow covered the ground and trees. She got dressed and scampered off to the bathroom. She opened the door and heard Myrtle wailing from the nearest cubicle.

_Oh no. She's in one of those moods again. How will I concentrate with her howling like that?!_

"Hi Myrtle," Hermione said uncertainly.

The sobbing stopped. A head appeared through the cubicle side.

"Oh. It's you. Again," she said disappointedly.

"Yes….it's me, how are you doing today Myrtle?" Hermione asked.

"How am I doing? What do you think?" Myrtle choked, "I'm dead and ugly and I'm stuck like this forever."

Hermione sighed inwardly. She hated this, it was so awkward!

"Erm….don't be silly Myrtle. Being a ghost is great you can…ummm-" Hermione attempted before Myrtle let out a screech and dived into the toilet- causing a small splash which Hermione cleverly avoided.

When it became clear she wasn't going to emerge for a while, Hermione cast a quick cleaning spell and got to work. She added the pinedew and then stirred. The colour was slowly changing from a murky blue to a dark, sea green colour. This colour would change when the hairs were added. Hermione shuddered. She really wasn't looking forward to drinking essence of Millicent Bulstrode.

When she had stirred the potion for about 20 minutes, the colour changed again to a disgusting shade of brown. Even though it looked dreadful, this was a good sign. That meant she had one more mornings and it'd be ready! Just like she had said. She couldn't wait to tell the boys. _Although I doubt they'll be happy spending Christmas Day in the dungeons with Malfoy._

The remainder of Christmas Eve passed quickly. It was a very liberating experience- they didn't have to worry about noise or anything. No-one listened to Percy which he seemed to get slightly mad about. Each time they arrived for a meal during the day, Hermione noticed that the decorations were getting more extravagant., more and more tinsel and fairy lights which dangled by themselves were draped in the Great Hall. There were only about 20 students all in all staying for the holidays, but the teachers didn't want the decorations to be anything else but the best. This brightened the sparse student populations' spirit and made them more relaxed spending Christmas in Hogwarts.

The trio spent a lovely evening with Hagrid drinking eggnog. Hermione wasn't particularly fond of it but she drunk it all the same. It was a bitter night and she needed warming up after the trek to Hagrids hut.

She went to bed early- the boys were extremely excited over the thought of interrogating Malfoy and the fact that it was present time the next day.

* * *

Christmas Day dawned on Hogwarts. Hermione groggily woke an hour earlier to prepare the potion for drinking. She added the lacewing flies, conjured three mugs and tipped the mixture evenly into the mugs.

Then she hurried to the boys' dormitory and woke Ron and Harry up.

"Wake up! It's ready!" Hermione said loudly- it didn't matter about privacy as Harry and Ron were the only ones in the dormitory.

"Wuzzagoingon?" Ron muttered sleepily.

"I said- it's ready!" Hermione repeated. This time the two boys sat up straight.

"You sure?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Definitely, I've spent the previous hour getting it ready. It needs to be tonight."

"Excellent, "Ron said, rubbing sleep from the corners of his eyes.

The trio opened their presents, with exclamations of surprise and gratitude. They accompanied the rest of the Weasley family to the common room, dumped the presents and went to breakfast chatting along the way.

They found the teachers in a good mood drinking eggnog and wearing new items of clothing, Dumbledore sporting a new set of bright crimson robes which greatly amused the twins.

They went back to the common room and used their new presents to occupy themselves. Hermione started reading her new book- it had arrived with no name, and she automatically assumed it was from her parents.

"What's that you got there Hermione? Not another new book? Surely you have enough already," Fred joked.

"No, it's a classic. I've wanted it for ages and I'm really pleased I finally got it," Hermione replied, looking up from _Pride and Prejudice_ and laughing.

Even the fact that she was about to drink an exceedingly dangerous potion that night, couldn't stop her from enjoying the book. All too soon though, dinner arrived. She put her book down and went to the dormitory to grab her self made cupcakes.

The Great Hall looked stunning. Around the sides, were frost covered Christmas trees and snow fell from the enchanted ceiling warm and dry. Even though there were so few people, it didn't dampen Dumbledore's spirit. He led them in his favourite Christmas carols, much to everyone's amusement.

Finally the feast was over, and Harry and Ron made their way up the marble staircase. Hermione noticed and quickly dashed over.

"Wait, you still need a bit of Crabbe and Goyle," she said, pulling out the cupcakes from her robes.

Both boys wore puzzled expressions.

"You need to put them where Crabbe and Goyle can find them. Easily. Remember they're filled with sleeping draught so once they eat them; you have to hide them away somewhere. Don't forget to take their shoes," she explained.

"Their shoes?" Ron asked.

"Yes, I managed to find robes to fit them, but not shoes," Hermione smiled nervously.

"OK, give them here; we'll meet you in the bathroom in about 10 minutes. I can see Crabbe and Goyle coming now," Harry said, glancing into the Great Hall.

Hermione handed them over and walked up to the bathroom. She was extremely nervous. _Would it go OK? Or would something disastrous happen?_

She spent 5 minutes pondering as she leant against a sink before Harry and Ron burst in, triumphantly holding a few of Crabbe and Goyles hairs.

"Fantastic!" Hermione exclaimed, "OK, Ron here's yours. Put the hairs into the potion."

"Ugh! It looks like sick!" Ron grimaced as he added the hairs. It turned a vile puke colour.

Hermione passed Harry's over and they both dropped their hairs into their potions. None of them looked appealing.

"So. Once we've drunk this, we have exactly an hour to get down to the dungeons and interrogate Malfoy," Hermione said, "One-Two-Three!"

The three of them downed their potions. It tasted revolting; Hermione fought the urge to gag. She swallowed it all and immediately felt a twinge in the tips of her fingers. She ran to a cubicle- after grabbing a set of robes she had placed their earlier.

She heard two other cubicles bolt shut. She waited, the pain flowed through her nerves, it was like stabbing. She gasped and clutched the walls of the cubicle. She saw her hands. Massive boil like bumps were appearing through her skin. Suddenly she cried out, the pain had intensified. She felt all hairy and something was growing out from her body. In a few minutes, the pain was over. She looked again at her hands and gasped. They were covered in fur! Hermione instantly ran her hands across her body. She felt hair everywhere. And…..oh Merlin! She had a tail!

"Hermione?"

Hermione jumped. A low voice reverberated through the bathroom.

"Hermione? You alright in there?"

"Yes!" Hermione squeaked, Umm….you need to go on without me."

"What? Why?" Another voice called out.

"It doesn't matter, just go. I'll catch up in a minute!"

She heard vague mutterings and the door slammed shut.

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**I think I rushed this a bit what do you guys think?**

**And sorry for no Cedric POV, he will appear in the next chapter!**

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	19. Chapter 19: No More Laughing

**Here you go. Thanks for waiting, been very busy. Only five more exams to go : )**

**Thanks to: aranona, CFCRockAngel, bellatash94, Gandalf the Grey-Edelwiess, BFFofCrazyShopoholicPixe-Alice, Margaritalimes, hansbmd, yellow 14 for reviewing. They mean so much to me, i smile each time I read a review- good or bad. They help me continue writing, as I am struggling with writers block on this story. So, if you can, please review.**

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_Chapter 19: No More Laughing_

Hermione sat on the toilet lid for what seemed like hours, but she knew it couldn't be more than 60 minutes. The potion would stop working after an hour and Harry and Ron would be back with news. She buried her head in her hands and cried. She cried even harder when Moaning Myrtle floated through the door.

"Oh deary me, something didn't go right!" Myrtle cackled with glee.

"Oh g-g-go away Myrtle. How w-was I supposed t-to know it w-was a c-cat hair? The p-potion is only meant f-for human t-transformations," sobbed Hermione.

Myrtle giggled again and sat with her until the door to the toilets opened.

"Hermione! Where were you? You never showed!"

The voice of Ron Weasley startled Hermione so much that she mewed loudly. She attempted to muffle it, but it was too late.

"What was that? Hermione, you alright?" Harry asked, confused.

"N-n-no!" She wailed. Moaning Myrtle left the cubicle.

"It's simply awful! You wait till you see her," Myrtle laughed before entering the cubicle again.

Hermione heard footsteps. The door was kicked open.

"Merlin! What happened Hermione?" Harry exclaimed.

"You're covered in fur!" Ron said, mouth hanging open in amazement.

"It- it- it was a c-cat hair! Millicent m-must have a c-cat," wailed Hermione, fresh tears flowed down her cheeks.

"She's even got a tail," stage whispered Myrtle. You couldn't mistake the happiness in her voice that something had happened to someone else, and not her.

"Come on. Let's get to the hospital wing, "Ron said gingerly. Hermione mewed again.

"Blimey, that's not something you see every day," laughed Harry. Then he stopped when he saw the look on Hermiones' face.

They left the bathroom quickly and hurried up the flights of stairs to the hospital wing.

There were occupied beds, home to the petrified students and one ghost of Hogwarts. Hermione tried not to shudder when she walked past them. Ron knocked on the office door.

* * *

"Good gracious!" Madam Pomfrey said, completely shocked at the cat/ girl standing before her.

After a few minutes of frantic explaining- of course they didn't tell her the truth, Madam Pomfrey never asked too many questions and tended to believe what her patients said, rather than face the real truth, which was never that nice to hear in the first place.

Hermione was tucked up in bed, and had to drink numerous concoctions, none of which tasted very pleasant.

The boys were asked to leave, as visiting hours had been over for several hours. They promised to return in the morning, with a few books she had requested- one of which being her new Christmas present, Pride and Prejudice.

With all that had happened today, Hermione didn't need the dreamless sleep potion Madam Pomfrey had offered her. She fell asleep, dreaming of tails and fur balls.

* * *

Cedric leant his head against the window and faced the prospect of going back to school. He had never been this miserable thinking about Hogwarts. He had plenty of friends, he got good grades in his lessons and Hogwarts was like his second home. A place where he could be his true self and let himself go a bit- without having his parents' reputation hanging over him.

But this year, Cedric didn't want to go back. He doubted if anyone truly wanted to go back, considering the circumstances. Hogwarts wasn't safe anymore, and he couldn't stop worrying over a certain bushy haired girl. Even when they weren't speaking, Hermione was on Cedrics mind all the time. He was concerned over her friendship with Harry. Even if Harry wasn't to blame with his whole ordeal- which he found difficult to accept- Harry was trouble. Yes, he was a likeable guy, but trouble seemed to be attracted to him, and people around him got hurt.

What if Hermione got hurt?

Cedric didn't even want to think about that.

The compartment door slid open and broke Cedrics thoughts.

"Hey," Claire greeted him, with a weak smile.

Cedric looked up and smiled as his two best friends sat down. Tom opened a pack of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and offered them around. Luckily, Cedric had chosen carefully, and was pleased to taste toffee in his mouth. It seemed Claire was less fortunate, judging by the expression on her face. She made sure both boys weren't looking before slipping it into her tissue which was hidden in her jeans pocket.

"So…" Tom smiled. Cedric laughed.

"Not looking forward to being back, huh?" Claire asked.

"Nope," Cedric replied.

"Same," she and Tom agreed. It wasn't going to be a barrel of laughs like last year. School was dangerous; an 'unknown' danger was stalking the school, attacking the students. Attacking Muggleborns.

The trio continued to discuss what the next term would hold for them- and dared each other to eat unpleasant looking Bertie Botts beans. Cedric only passed on one, which turned out to be horseradish.

* * *

They arrived at school tired and hungry. They had a welcome back feast along with the few students who stayed. Cedric subconsciously searched for Hermione but, strangely enough, couldn't be found.

He panicked.

Had she been attacked? Was she alright? Did she….die?

Tom noticed his distress.

"What's wrong?"

Cedric ignored him and determinedly looked again, under the impression that he had missed her.

He hadn't.

She wasn't there.

"Cedric! Snap out of it," Tom said, alarmed. Cedric looked dreadful. He was pale, his face drained of colour.

Tom punched him on the arm, which thankfully woke him from his panic stricken daze.

"Hermione isn't there," he stammered, despair ripping through him.

"Is this déjà-vu?" Tom asked, attempting to lighten the mood. It didn't work. Claire glowered at him. Cedric looked at him. If looks could kill….

"Don't make jokes. Hermione is Muggleborn! She might have been attacked," Cedric said, his voice rising with fear.

"Merlin. OK, come on. We'll go to the hospital wing with you. That's where the victims are being kept," Claire said, keeping her voice steady. "I'm sure it's an over-reaction, but we should just make sure, to be on the safe side."

They both helped him up; he didn't seem to be able to stand up. Cedric had completely deteriorated.

His friends were worried.

Dumbledore watched as the popular Hufflepuff staggered out of the Great Hall.

* * *

"Miss Granger?" Madam Pomfrey popped her head round the curtains. She looked up from her book.

"Yes? Please don't say it's time for my medication again. They taste vile, and I would really like some food. The feast will have started by now, and I'm all alone up here-"

"You have a visitor," Madam Pomfrey interrupted.

"Oh," Hermione blushed.

"I'll send him through, his friends will have to wait outside," she said before disappearing. Hermione could hear her scuttle down the ward- she was far away from the door. She heard a low voice and a shiver went down her spine. She knew that voice. It was-

"Hermione."

Cedric.

* * *

**I don't know when i'll next update.**

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	20. Chapter 20: Confrontation

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**Only two more exams to go.**

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_

_Previously…._

"_Hermione."_

_It was Cedric._

_

* * *

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_Chapter 20: Confrontation_

Hermione blinked. Her eyes bore into him, taking him all in. She hadn't seen him since the dreadful argument before the Christmas holidays. His hair hung around his eyes- he had to keep brushing it away, a trait which Hermione had always liked. Cedric looked quite pale, as if he had been in shock. Hermione didn't speak, and jumped when Cedric spoke.

"What happened? I thought-" he stopped, and swallowed, "you had been…. attacked."

It was then Hermione realised she still resembled a cat. She hastily pulled the covers up, in an effort to hide herself, but in the process, she showed him her hands. She tried not to notice him flinch.

"I wasn't attacked, it was a potion accident," Hermione replied, frostily. Of course she was happy to see him, but he thought that Harry was picking off the Muggleborns. How and why he thought that, Hermione didn't know.

"Oh," Cedric seemed loss for words, "when I saw that you weren't in the Great Hall, I…. was worried."

"That's understandable," Hermione smiled, touched by his obvious sensitivity. _He really had been worried when he didn't find me… but how could he that thought Harry would have hurt me?_

"Right. I'm sorry, but why do you resemble a cat?" Cedric asked abruptly.

Hermione winced. How could she explain this to him? Could she trust him again?

"Of course… if you don't want to tell me, that's fine," Cedric said, although it was apparent he would not be pleased if Hermione refused to tell him.

"No! It's not that-"

She was interrupted.

"Miss Granger? Two boys are here, Mr Potter and Mr Weasley, I'll send them through?" Madam Pomfrey announced.

Hermione looked at Cedric

Cedric held her gaze.

"Fine. Let them in. Doesn't bother me in the slightest," Cedric spat.

Hermione glared at him. _If he is going to act immature then fine. I'll be childish too._

"Yes, that's fine," Hermione replied. Madam Pomfrey nodded and Harry and Ron entered through the curtain surrounding her bed. It was a tad uncomfortable. Ron and Harry both looked abashed when they saw that Hermione had company. And company with Cedric Diggory. They didn't look too happy about it.

"What is he doing here?" Ron snarled.

"_I _was just checking on Hermione here, I didn't see her at the feast and-" Cedric retorted but then Harry interrupted.

"And you thought I had attacked her," Harry said bitterly.

Cedric looked loss for words. This was not part of his plan.

"Well, of course not-" Cedric tried to defend himself.

"Of course you did! It's bloody obvious! How can you think that Harry would attack one of his best friends?!" Ron yelled, furiously.

"I…I didn't…no…"

"Just leave her alone, Diggory. She clearly doesn't want you here, look at her. She didn't want anyone to know about it, and now you're gonna tell your little friends who will tell the whole school. You're not doing her any good whatsoever, just let her be with her real friends- the ones who truly care for her!" Ron continued, the tip of his ears bright red. Ron was absolutely livid that Cedric thought he could just waltz into Hermione's life so easily. He didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve her.

Cedric looked at Hermione. She was clutching her hands beneath the cover, in obvious distress. She was sweating slightly, and her eyes were glassy. He took that to mean she didn't want him here.

"Very well. I can see I'm not wanted. Bye Hermione, I hope you get better…and…. I won't repeat this to anyone you realise?" Cedric said, desperately trying to keep his voice steady.

"I believe you Cedric. Thanks for coming," Hermione replied, her voice cracking slightly when she said his name.

He nodded, and left the enclosed space.

She fell back slightly into her pillow, continuing to rub her hands- a way of relieving stress. It wasn't working.

"Why are you so upset? He only wanted to make sure you hadn't died," Harry said, somewhat confused.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just glad he made the effort. Umm, if you don't mind, I'm quite tired… I think I'll go to sleep now…." Hermione said quietly. Ron and Harry exchanged hopeless glances then nodded. They told Madam Pomfrey that Hermione wanted to sleep, and then left the Hospital Wing.

* * *

Outside the Hospital Wing was where Cedric stopped. His head felt like it would explode, and there was a pain in his chest. Of course he was happy that Hermione hadn't been petrified like all the other victims he had passed on the way to Hermiones bed. But the way Hermione changed when Harry and Ron entered…. Why was that? Was she scared that Harry was there? Or did she not want them to know Cedric was there? Did she really care for him, or was she just being polite- and unable to get out of bed to punch him? All these questions increased the ache in his chest.

Cedric attempted to calm his erratic breathing, and just in time. He could hear Ron and Harry speak to Madam Pomfrey. Cedric ran, increasing the distance between him and the Gryffindors. He had an inkling that they wouldn't be happy to see him again.

* * *

Days passed, Ron and Harry visited Hermione every day, bringing her homework and extra study materials. The two boys couldn't figure out why she wanted to do work while she was recovering but Hermione never wanted to be alone with her thoughts. She wanted to be as occupied as possible, so she didn't have to think about the dreadful visit from Cedric.

Although Hermione knew that Cedric wouldn't have told anyone- well, except for his close friends perhaps- but students still realised that Hermione Granger wasn't in their midst. Second years poured into the Hospital Wing, until it got to a point where Madam Pomfrey banned all visitors, except Ron and Harry. But she still somehow got many get well cards, although she didn't seem to understand how they thought sending a petrified person a get well soon card was a good idea but, it was the thought that counted.

She remembered the day when Professor Lockhart delivered her a card. She made sure that he didn't see her- begging Madam Pomfrey to accept it instead. She couldn't bear for the darling professor to bound in, expecting to see a frozen Hermione, and actually find her hiding beneath her pillow. She could hear him talking, telling Madam Pomfrey a daring story about how he rescued a whole village from attacked by vampires. Then she laughed as Madam Pomfrey told him she had read all his books, and wasn't it actually a yeti. Hermione had begun to see through Lockhart slowly, much later than Harry and Ron had. And now he was getting confused between who had attacked where. _I wonder how long he will last…._

Hermione was terrified of people seeing her still furry face, that she would rather have students think she was attacked. She could imagine Malfoy's gloating smirk, and satisfaction that she, the _mudblood,_ had been a victim to the monster.

There was still much speculation about who actually was attacking the students. An incredible amount of students still thought it was Harry- Harry recounted many stories to Hermione during visiting times about how Fred and George were still joking around, calling Harry the Heir of Slytherin. Harry now took it in his stride- to Hermiones advice:

"Seriously Harry, you need to stop caring what everyone thinks. How can people still think that you're the person who is attacking everyone? How can people be so heartless? How can they think that you attacked one of your best friends? Just accept it, people will come round eventually. And you'll be able to say, "in your face," or, "I told you so," and it would be so satisfying. Plus, now you know who your true friends are. Anyone who doesn't believe you doesn't deserve-" Hermione paused, thinking about Cedric for the first time in hours, "doesn't deserve to be your friend."

Everytime Hermione thought of him, her chest ached, and it felt like someone was stabbing her. Her body literally throbbed. She was wringing her hands together so much that she wondered if she should write home and ask her parents to send a stress ball, just so she could occupy her hands with something.

Finally, two weeks after term had started, Hermione was furless, and left the Hospital Wing. She was delighted to be able to go to classes again, and be normal.

When she arrived in the common room that evening, everyone stared. How had she been unpetrified?!

Hermione told her story- that she had been in a severe potions accident which left her in a coma for weeks- to countless students. Finally, the crowd thinned and she was able to get to her dormitory. She smiled to herself when she saw her bed, and fell into it. She lay there, staring at her canopy until Parvati and Lavender came in. Then she laughed at their faces- it was obvious they enjoyed having the dormitory to themselves. She excused herself and went to get washed and changed.

Then she came back into her bedroom, and fell asleep- for once actually being glad to hear voices, it had been so quiet in the Hospital Wing. She had felt lonely.

* * *

**Hey everyone, I was in the mood to write, and this chapter came out. Hope you enjoyed it. **

**Now please review. I get countless, "story alerts," and "favourite story," etc and it's annoying that you can't take literally 10 seconds to say why you liked it. **

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**xxx**


	21. Chapter 21: Discovery

**Thanks for all the reviews, I am now ill at the moment, I seriously didn't sleep at all last night! So tired :( So reading those reviews have been making me feel better :)**

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**Hope you like this chapter- my longest yet I think!**

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_Chapter 21: Discovery_

The next morning, the sun gleamed through the slightly frosted windows, making the beams bounce around the room. Hermione woke, and marvelled at the sight. She saw that Parvati and Lavender were still sleeping; she quickly left the room to change into her robes. It felt nice to wear proper clothes again; the Hospital Wing gown had gotten uncomfortable after wearing it since December. She collected her bag and went down to the common room.

It was now February. Hermione had been in the Hospital Wing since December. It had been a long 2 months and it didn't take long for her to notice the mood in the Gryffindor common room had changed. There was hope. It had been months since the last attack. Everyone had been praying that it was over- that life could return to normal.

Hermione sat in the cosy armchair by the fireplace, and waited for Ron and Harry to wake up and come down. It didn't take long.

"Hermione! You're up early, we were gonna wait for you. Quick, Harry has something to show you," Ron said excitedly.

Hermione looked up to see Harry thrusting something in her face. It was a diary. Hermione frowned.

"It's a diary…." Hermione stated, somewhat confused. _What was this about?_

"It's not just a diary! We went to see Myrtle; there had been another flood outside her bathroom. She said something had come in and thrown it at her. Look at the date Hermione," said Harry.

Hermione peered at the back. _50 years ago._

"But that's-"

"50 years ago. When the Chamber was last open. It's T. Riddles diary. He was awarded a special services award by the school," Ron continued.

Hermione opened it and flicked through.

"It's empty…. Oooo! Maybe it has some kind of special power!" Hermione said, finally sharing their excitement. She knew that there was something important about this book. _Maybe…_

Harry looked at her. She knew that they had the same thought.

Ron looked at them, a puzzled expression appearing on his face.

"What?"

"Ron, think about it. The Chamber of the Secrets was opened _50 years ago_," Harry started.

"We also know that T. Riddle was awarded an award to the school _50 years ago_," Hermione continued slowly.

But Ron still looked confused.

"Ron! The dates! They match. Maybe T. Riddle got the award for _catching the Heir of Slytherin!_"

Realisation dawned on Ron.

"Oh!"

Harry continued, "And maybe this diary has information about the Chamber. How to open it, what's inside, what really is attacking the students, and more importantly, how to stop it!"

"But Harry, nothing is written in it…"

"It could be invisible ink, or maybe you have to say an incantation or charm to make the words appear," suggested Hermione.

Hermione took out her wand, tapped the book three times, and whispered, "_Aparecium!_"

Nothing happened. Determined to uncover the diary's secrets, Hermione rummaged in her bag for her revealer. She pulled it out triumphantly.

Harry and Ron looked blank.

"It's a revealer, I got it last summer," explained Hermione.

She opened the book, and rubbed the revealer on the date in the top left corner. Nothing happened.

"Ugh."

"Maybe you're wrong, maybe he just got a useless diary for Christmas and was too busy to write in it," Ron said dejectedly.

* * *

Hermione could definitely feel hope now. Even the sun shone every day, although there was still a cold breeze, it was nice to be able to feel the sun's rays on your face.

Even though Hermione had returned to school, she still had periods of time where she couldn't stop her mind wandering to a certain Hufflepuff. It was nearly Valentine's Day- an extremely popular day in the Muggle world, and even bigger at Hogwarts, as that's where the whole teenage population of Britain were kept. Hermione began to have daydreams, of giving or receiving a card from Cedric. But she knew it was just a silly fantasy. He felt angry from the visit, Hermione was sure of it. But, maybe if Hermione sent him a card…. it would try and repair their friendship. Hermione didn't want to lose it, it was too precious to her.

She looked in the newest edition of the Daily Prophet and went to the back page, it had an owl order form for Valentine cards. Hermione sneakily filled out the form and borrowed a school owl. It returned the next day. Harry and Ron exchanged looks, as Hermione saw the owl, took the attachment, and then ran up to the empty common room.

It was a blank card, with a picture of two bears staring into each other's eyes. Hermione took out her wand, and transfigured them into a lion and badger. She opened the card and wrote in it. She left the quote in the middle; _'In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. ~Albert Schweitzer'_

She added, _You are the person who relit my fire, thank you. I'm sorry._

Then signed it, _Love Hermione._

She looked at the card, and admired it. It wasn't really a real love card, more of a friendship card, with the hint of romance. It was true, when she was with Cedric last year, she felt more alive than she had ever been. He was her close confident, just like Harry and Ron. But with Cedric, it was more than that. Like they were meant to be more than friends…

She hid it in her room, and then returned to breakfast. She didn't offer an explanation and the trio walked to class.

* * *

Cedric noticed what Hermione had done. Then when he saw his owl flutter through the window, Cedric did exactly the same thing.

After Hermione had returned to daily school, Cedric had increasing thoughts about her. How she was doing. Did she truly hate him? Things like that.

Cedric just wanted to be friends again. He didn't care what Harry and Ron thought. All he cared about was Hermione's opinion. He knew Valentine's Day was approaching, and decided to send her a card. Hopefully it would start to mend their broken friendship. Cedric filled out the Daily Prophet order form and then waited for it to arrive.

Cedric took the card to his dormitory. He looked at the card, he had chosen well. It had a picture of a couple holding hands, walking into the sunset.

He opened it, and wrote in it. He left his quote; _'Forgiving is love's toughest work, and love's biggest risk. If you twist it into something it was never meant to be, it can make you a doormat or an insufferable manipulator. Forgiving seems almost unnatural. Our sense of fairness tells us people should pay for the wrong they do. But forgiving is love's power to break nature's rule. ~Lewis B. Smedes.' _then wrote, _Forgive me?_

He signed his name then sealed the envelope.

He hid it under his bed and then left to get to his next class.

_

* * *

_

Valentine's Day arrived, in a flurry of pink. Overnight the castle had been transformed. Hermione had a shrewd idea of who was behind it.

She was proved correct as she entered the Great Hall. Professor Lockhart stood at the Staff Table, wearing lurid pink robes.

She sat down and laughed at Harry and Rons expressions. They looked horrified, and then disgusted when the cupid dwarfs marched in. She knew that Harry especially wouldn't enjoy this day. She wasn't listening to Lockhart's speech, instead searching in her bag for her card for Cedric. When she was satisfied it was there, she searched the Hufflepuff table. She spotted Cedric immediately, and their eyes met. Hermione felt a shiver of excitement run down her spine. She smiled at him, and he smiled nervously back.

She now had to plan how to slip it into his bag.

She decided to follow him to his class, then make his bag rip so his books fell on the floor.

She told the boys to tell Professor Flitwick she would be just coming, if she wasn't back in time. They were both pre-occupied and didn't seem to care where she was going.

She searched for Cedric, then spotted him behind her. She hid behind a pillar, then saw how Cedric looked round, looking bemused.

He went up the stairs, following Ron and Harry.

She came out of her hiding place then followed him. When the crowd thinned slightly, she pointed her wand and muttered the incantation to make his bag rip. Cedric looked surprised and bent down, picking everything. Hermione quickly vanished the card and made it re-appear in his bag, between the books which he'd already stored in his bag. Satisfied, Hermione scuttled away, thinking of the successful job. She didn't notice Cedric spot her.

* * *

Cedric made sure that his card was in his bag whilst he was in the hall. He wasn't surprised by the awful decorations. With Lockhart as part of the staff, it was bound to happen. He had sat a bit away from Tom and Claire; they were being all couply, something Cedric couldn't stomach at that precise moment. He searched the Gryffindor table, looking for Hermione. He spotted her first, then smiled as Hermione looked at him. He knew what he was going to do. He was going to slip it into her bag as he passed her. If she talked to him, that would be nice, but no doubt she would be mad at him. That was the whole point of sending her a card.

He watched her go out the hall, and followed her. He made it to the Entrance Hall, then stopped. She had disappeared. He spotted Harry and Ron ahead of him, and made a decision to follow them, in case Hermione re-appeared. He followed them all the way to the Charms corridor, where he noticed a crowd of cupid dwarfs. One spotted Harry and pushed its way to him. Cedric immediately knew what would happen and decided to leave.

He went down a quieter path, now heading for his class, when suddenly, his bag ripped open.

Surprised, he bent down and picked his books up. He didn't notice an envelope slip into his bag.

Finished, Cedric stood up, and saw a familiar looking second year Gryffindor run out into another corridor. He quickly followed Hermione, wondering what kind of game she was playing at. He could still see her, not that far ahead. He knew that she didn't know he was behind her. Hermione had to wait on the stairs, and Cedric walked slowly towards her. He carefully slipped the card inside her bag, then ran back down the stairs before she noticed what had just happened. _Mission completed._

Then he went back to History of Magic, Professor Binns hadn't noticed he had just arrived. He sat down next to Claire and smiled to himself.

* * *

Neither of them noticed there was a card in their bags that day.

Cedric was busy practising Quidditch to look in his large bag. It wasn't as if he expected a card to be in his bag. All the cards he had received that day had been delivered by dwarfs, much to his embarrassment. He had heard Harry had received a singing card, and thought himself lucky that no-one loved him_ that_ much.

Hermione, on the other hand, was busy thinking about Hagrid. Harry had told her everything that happened the previous night. She knew Hagrid had a fondness for dangerous creatures, but she couldn't believe it was him that set the monster on the Muggleborns. She didn't know what it was, but something didn't make sense.

"Maybe Riddle got it wrong….. maybe it was something else that attacked the students," Hermione suggested, desperate to come up with another explanation.

"How many monsters do you think this place can hold Hermione?" Ron said bitterly.

"We knew he was expelled, we just didn't think to ask," Harry said miserably.

"Plus the attacks must have stopped, otherwise Riddle wouldn't have got his award," Ron said.

Hermione sighed. This was their friend. Hagrid. _Why did he have a hatred for Muggleborns? What about me?_

They decided not to talk to Hagrid unless there was another attack. It had been four months since the double attack of Justin and Nearly Headless Nick. Peeves had stopped being cruel to Harry, and even Ernie was being polite again.

She went to bed that night, dreaming about a huge spider…

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**Next update will be sometime next week, i've already written it and part of the chapter after that : )**

**Until then, thank you everyone who likes this story. It's my pride and joy and I never thought i'd be still writing it.**

**And don't forget, if you haven't already, please read my other stories. House Unity is much more fun and has more humour than this one : )**

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	22. Chapter 22: Realisation Finally Dawns

**Hey, here is the next chapter, slightly late but I've been busy- I finally finished school! Well, until September for my A-Levels. The last week has been hectic- revising, getting ready for Prom, going to Prom, signing off all my subjects etc. I can finally rest for a week and then it's off to Disneyland Paris! Yay. I'm going away alot this summer, so I will try and write as much as I can.**

**Thanks to reviewers: Vale of Tears, Margaritalimes, Michelle Black a.k.a Elle, hansbmd, BFFofCrazyShopoholicPixe-Alice, yellow 14, Marieheart, MrsBlaCKwIfeY, -x-jbn23, pstibbons, Readerforlife**

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_Chapter 22: Realisation Finally Dawns_

Now it was March, and that meant it was nearly time for the final Quidditch Match- Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff.

But before that happened, the second years had important decisions to make, their choices for third year. Hermione had absolutely no idea what to choose. Everyone was telling her different advice. Even McGonagall was no help- she said that there was no subject that Hermione would find difficult.

Ron and Harry, she observed, used the same technique as Dean Thomas had done the previous night- closing their eyes and signing up for subjects their wands landed on.

Hermione gave up, and signed up for everything.

* * *

Cedric was training harder and harder. He was seeker for the Hufflepuff team, so would be up against the famous Harry Potter. It would be a difficult match, one way or another. Cedric still didn't particularly like Harry, even if he wasn't causing the attacks, he was trouble. And Cedric didn't want Hermione to be associated with trouble. But, as his captain said repeatedly, he shouldn't worry about anything else, just focus on the game. It had been years since Hufflepuff had a shot at the Quidditch Cup. This year, they would win.

When he wasn't practising with his team, he was practising with Tom and Claire. Tom would let out the bludgers and the snitch, and Claire would pretend to be the other seeker- so Cedric had more practise dodging bludgers and generally flying with more speed- a crucial part of their game plan.

* * *

Hermione spent most her time before the match reading books she had borrowed from the library.

The day before the match, she was just settling down to read: _Ancient Runes Made Easy, _when Harry and Ron ran down their spiral staircase and made a beeline for Hermione. She looked up from her book and then went incredibly pale when Harry told her the news.

"It's gone!" Harry cried.

"What? What's gone?"

"The diary, someone came into our dormitory, ransacked the place. The only thing that's missing is the diary." Ron explained, furiously.

"But that means…." Hermione gasped.

"Only a Gryffindor knows our password. A Gryffindor stole the diary."

"Oh no." Hermione muttered. This was just another worry for her to think about. How much more could she take?

* * *

The day dawned, sun shining high in the sky, accompanied by a light breeze. Cedric was happy; it was a perfect day for Quidditch. Cedric made his way down to breakfast with Tom, and the rest of his team. He forced himself to eat some toast- he could never eat much before a match, and especially not before an important match like this one.

He was already dressed in his Quidditch robes, so while the Gryffindor team ate a hearty breakfast, his team made its way down to the pitch.

On the way, he saw Hermione running in the direction of the library. He hoped she had got his card, but didn't exactly want to ask her about it. He caught up with his team, and they entered the changing rooms, to have the most important pep talk they had ever had.

* * *

Hermione and Ron made to follow Harry up to the common room, so he could collect his things.

But, as soon as Harry stepped on the staircase, he stopped. _Oh no, it's the voice again!_

She and Ron jumped when Harry roared, "it's the voice, I just heard it again, didn't you hear it?"

Suddenly, it made sense. _Harry could hear the voice. I can't. Harry is a Parselmouth… he could understand snakes while Ron and I can't. Oh Merlin!_

"Harry!" Hermione cried, "I've understood something! I've got to go to the library!"

Then she ran up the stairs. She couldn't believe it had taken her this long to crack it._ Of course it makes sense. The animal for Slytherin is a snake! But the only question is, how does it travel through the school? And does it have any connection with the dead roosters? Or the spiders fleeing out of the window into the forest? How did I not see this before? If I hadn't been concentrating on everything else…maybe…_

She hurtled into the library, and immediately went to the back right corner of the room. It contained dusty volumes, which had been there for centuries. They weren't particularly nice books, they should have really been in the Restricted Section, but Madam Pince seemed to have forgotten about them- only students studying for N.E.W.T Care of Magical Creatures had a desire to read them. Hermione scanned the shelves and found a promising one. She tugged it out of the shelf and flung it onto the closest table.

She flicked to the index and then turned to a page near the back of the back. She found what she was looking for. It was a Basilisk.

'_Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam from its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it.'_

Hermione gasped. She had found the monster, hidden deep beneath the school. She tore the page out and hurriedly put the book back. She looked at the clock, she had half an hour before the match started. She sat down and made sure that everything made sense. She would go find McGonagall, or Dumbledore, and hopefully the creature would be stopped before anyone else was attacked.

_So. It's a snake, which fits in with the heir of Slytherin idea and the fact only Harry can hear it….. the roosters were killed so the Basilisk wouldn't flee….. and there haven't been any spiders around because of the Basilisk. But what about the victims? They haven't died…. Of course! They haven't looked directly into the beam from its eye! Mrs Norris…. The pool of water! She must have seen its reflection… then it was Colin… he must have seen it through his camera lens, that's why the film burned up….. Justin must have seen it through Nearly Headless Nick. And Nick couldn't die again, even if he looked into its eye. Oh, it must have been horrible to see big yellow eyes…. _

_I need to warn someone. Anyone. As long as they don't stare directly at the creature, they'll be fine. But what about corners… I need something that will allow me to see what is around the corner without actually walking round it myself…..a mirror! Wow I'm good. It must be all this adrenaline. I need to get to McGonagall; she'll most likely be down on the pitch._

_But how does it travel around…. It can't be in the open, someone would see it….it's in the walls…what else in the walls….water….sewage…PIPES! Oh Merlin, it's travelling through the pipes. That must be how it gets from the Chamber…. I wonder where the opening is. I'll figure that out later, need to find McGonagall!_

She looked around for a quill, and wrote down pipes on the parchment so she wouldn't forget. Then she ran out of the library, heading towards the pitch.

"What are you doing here? Everyone should be down at the pitch," a voice rang out. Hermione looked up. It was Penelope Clearwater, the Ravenclaw prefect. She was a Muggleborn, just like her.

"Penelope, I've just realised what the monster is! It's a Basilisk! You can't look directly into its eye! Please, trust me. We need to find McGonagall-" Hermione started, frantically.

"Stop rambling. What are you talking about?" Penelope moaned, and then pulled out her compact mirror. "I need to get all the latecomers to the pitch-" she stopped. Penelope suddenly froze, and then fell to the floor.

Hermione panicked, she rushed forward, and then saw something in the open mirror she would never forget. A big, yellow eye.

Hermione closed her eyes.

* * *

_Dum Dom DUHHHHHHHH, Hermione has finally been petrified, man that took forever! So for a few chapters, it will be Cedric's POV._

_Need to figure out how many chapters until second year is over.... _

_Here is a question; **should I skip 3rd year and go straight to fourth**- the most entertaining and more stuff would happen, **or write 3rd year**- where it would be hard to fit Cedric in._

_**What would you, my readers, like to read more? 3rd or 4th year??**_

_Until next time- Love it? Hate it? Review it?_


	23. Chapter 23: How Do You Cope?

**Thanks to reviewers: yellow 14, Mwhahahaha18, MrsBlaCKwIfeY, Readerforlife, yadyforever, BFFofCrazyShopoholicPixe-Alice, hansbmd, CFCRockAngel, Michelle Black a.k.a Elle, Margaritalimes and pstibbons.**

**I will see how long it takes to finish second year, then decide what I want to do. Thank you for everyone who advised me in what to do, I really appreciate : ).**

**Because I seem to be sticking to as much canon as possible, I might try and write an AU Cedric and Hermione- that was my intention when I first wrote this... but I kinda just wrote what came to me and deviated from AU... sorry about that. So, look out for a new story- it may take a while, from Saturday to Thursday, I am on holiday, so I will try and write when I get back :)**

**Enjoy.**

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**_Chapter 23: How Do You Cope?_

Cedric and his team walked out onto the pitch, followed by roars from the Hufflepuff supporters. Cedric smiled at them all, waving. More cheers erupted. He was a popular player, even for a fourth year. The Hufflepuff team stood by the side and had a last minute discussion on tactics while waiting for Madam Hooch, but before they finished, Cedric heard a magnified voice which reverberated throughout the pitch. The voice filled him with dread.

"This match has been cancelled. I repeat, cancelled. Everyone please return to their house common rooms where they will be informed shortly. Please go as quickly as possible," Professor McGonagall shouted into the megaphone. Cedric bit his lip. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. This wasn't good. Something had happened. He left his team and ran to join Harry and the Gryffindor captain, who was arguing with the Professor.

Professor McGonagall ignored Wood's protests and turned to Harry, her eyes boring into him.

"Mr Potter, you need to come with me," Professor McGonagall said, her voice shaking with emotion, something which Cedric had never seen before. Harry nodded and proceeded to follow the teacher as she walked towards the exit.

"What's going on?" Cedric asked, following.

"I don't know, I get the feelings it's bad news though- why else would they cancel the match?" Harry replied.

Cedric paused before asking the Professor if he could go as well. She looked at Harry, who nodded.

"Very well Mr Diggory, you may come with us."

At that moment, Ron joined them, and was surprised when McGonagall said he should follow as well.

"Where's Hermione?" Harry asked Ron.

He shrugged, "she didn't turn up. She's probably in the library still, researching…. You know what,"

"I hope so..." Harry said darkly. They ignored Cedric, which left him to his thoughts. He didn't know how much more he could take. _Something is up. Something bad. Why else would the match have been cancelled? Why else would Harry and Ron be asked by their Head of House to follow her?_

They entered the Hospital Wing. His hands went clammy, and his breath quickened. This wasn't bad… it was serious.

"Now," Professor McGonagall told the boys, "this may be quite a shock. There was an attack. A double attack." She pulled the curtains away. They first saw a girl with long black hair, being attended to by Madam Pomfrey. And in the bed next to her was:

"Hermione!" Cedric gasped, and collapsed to the floor.

* * *

He awoke a few minutes later, a cool cloth on his forehead; he was lying on the bed next to Hermione. Cedric peeled off the cloth then leapt off his bed before crouching at Hermione's side. Ron and Harry stood on the other side, looking completely dumbstruck.

"I can't-" Harry whispered, "I can't believe she- Hermione- who could do this to her?"

Ron simply stared at the fixed form. She looked so unnatural. Her eyes were closed, as if she attempted to blot out what she saw, but it was too late. Her arm was frozen, high in the air. She didn't look at all peaceful. Cedric would never forget this sight. His chest ached, and it felt like something was missing from inside of him. His head hurt and his ears buzzed. _What's happening to me?_

"McGonagall asked us if we knew why they were found with a mirror, while you were unconscious. Do you know why?" Harry asked quietly.

Cedric shook his head, "No, I haven't spoken to her since we got back from Christmas holidays." He decided not to mention the Valentines card. He doubted she had found it- probably too busy concentrating on other things to delve deep into her school bag. _Or maybe she didn't care…._

Harry closed his eyes, and nodded. Cedric glanced at Hermione. She seemed to be constantly in danger. But he knew now. Harry wasn't the attacker. He could never do that to his best friend.

"Look Harry, I'm sorry for not believing you…. It's just, it looked so plausible, what else was I supposed to believe? But now I know, you could never do that to Hermione," Cedric apologised.

"Can we discuss this later? When I'm in a fit enough state to actually hold a decent conversation?" Harry murmured.

"Yes, I just wanted you to know."

They continued to stare at the petrified from of Hermione for a few more minutes. Then they were told to leave, Madam Pomfrey needed to address Hermione's needs.

* * *

Cedric didn't remember how he arrived back in his common. He was in a daze. Tom and Claire noticed and immediately realised what was wrong. They knew that Penelope had been attacked already. Flitwick had arrived and taken Emma to one side a few minutes before Cedric had come back. They left, Emma in floods of tears. But they also knew that it had been a double attack. And judging by Cedric's behaviour, they had a shrewd idea who the other victim had been.

"She's been attacked hasn't she?" Claire asked, rubbing his shoulder.

"I-I can't- I can't believe it was her. I thought- thought she was relatively safe.. from Harry. B-but it's not him. Harry isn't attacking the st-students," Cedric stuttered. He had started to shake. Tom and Claire exchanged nervous glances.

"How are you coping?" Tom asked tentatively.

Cedric glanced at him.

"What do you ex-expect? Hermione has been pet-petrified. How do you think I'm co-coping?"

"I'm gonna go and get a calming draught from Madam Pomfrey. You're in shock, you need to calm down," Claire said soothingly, then left the room. Cedric stared at the opposite wall, rocking gently back and forth. People were being to notice.

"Come on mate; let's get you to your room. People are looking at you," Tom said, lifting Cedric's arm over his shoulder and half dragged him to their room.

"She looked so helpless….scared… I….can't get her out of my head," Cedric murmured whilst he was dragged upstairs.

Tom opened the door and dropped Cedric on his bed, then sat down next to him.

"I'm not exactly great at this stuff, Claire is much better. If you want to talk to me, I'm here for you. You're my best mate, and I don't want to see you in pain," Tom said sincerely.

All Cedric could do was nod.

They sat in silence for about 10 minutes before Claire came in with a smoking goblet of potion. She quickly dried her cheeks before they noticed- she had caught a glimpse of Hermione through the curtains- and gave the potion to Cedric. He gulped it down.

At once, the shaking stopped. His breathing became steadier.

"I think I'm just gonna go back down," Tom said, glancing at Claire meaningfully. She was much better at this than he was.

Claire agreed, and briefly hugged him before settling herself next to Cedric. She brushed up against him, letting him know that she was there.

"I'm here Ced. You're not alone," Claire whispered, comforting him.

"Thanks," Cedric smiled weakly. He leant into her, drawing comfort from her warmth.

He knew he had to be strong; it wouldn't do just to collapse and become depressed. Hermione wasn't coming back for a while. But he would make sure she was never alone for as long as possible. He had so much he wanted to tell her, so much he wanted to share with her. He could see his future, and Hermione _needed_ to be in it.

Cedric swallowed, trying to lodge the lump in his throat and decided he wanted to play Quidditch. He was still in his robes, and he needed to let out his frustration. He hugged Claire and nuzzled briefly in her hair, breathing in the scent of her coconut shampoo. Then he grabbed his broomstick from the side of his bed and went out to the now empty Quidditch Pitch.

He kicked off the ground and felt that exhilarating rush that flying always gave him. He sped round the goalposts, diving and soaring whenever he felt like it. He stayed out there for hours, he didn't feel like eating and he could do his homework in the evening. For once he just wanted to feel free. He flew so fast, he couldn't think about anything but staying on his broom, and that was a grateful relief.

When he felt it get colder, Cedric decided to land and walk up to the castle. He would shower in the dormitory bathroom; he didn't feel like entering the changing rooms.

After his shower, Cedric accompanied Tom and Claire to dinner. On the way, he noticed Harry and Ron glancing at him. He raised his head in acknowledgment, and the two boys did the same. _Hopefully we can regain our friendship from the beginning of the year._

Once dinner was finished, Cedric went to visit Hermione. Madam Pomfrey sighed, but let him in. She knew that he would be a regular visitor. Cedric talked to her, about playing Quidditch and how everyone had found out about the attack. He knew that she couldn't hear him, but he didn't want to sit there in silence. He wanted her to know everything about him. And if he had to do that while she was basically unconscious, then that would be what he would do.

Madam Pomfrey told him an hour later that he should go now, and Cedric unwillingly went. He promised Hermione he would be back tomorrow, with more things to tell her.

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**Review and tell me what you think : )**


	24. Chapter 24: A Plan

**Thanks to: Readerforlife, CFCRockAngel, Michelle Black a.k.a Elle, yellow 14, hansbmd, BFFofCrazyShopoholicPixe-Alice, MrsBlaCKwIfeY, Mwhahahaha18 and AlexandriaBlack for reviewing.**

**I also edited the first three chapters of this story, adding slightly more detail. Please check them out : )**

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_Chapter 24: A Plan_

For the next few days, Cedric visited Hermione every single minute he could spare. He would even take his homework with him, just so he could spend extra time with her. Each day, he usually saw Harry and Ron as well. They had come into an unspoken agreement that they would be civil to one another for Hermione's sake. As Cedric had reminded them the first morning after the attack, they had been friends before, and he hoped they would be friends again. Harry and Ron needed time to accept that Cedric really was a nice guy, and that he was truly sorry for not believing Harry in the first place.

Claire occasionally visited Hermione, but Tom steered clear, it was hard for him to look at Hermione, and even worse to look at Cedric. He had bags under his eyes and his skin was paler than usual. Tom didn't like to see his best friend like that. Claire went because she visited Penelope as well- to give Emma some support. Her friend wasn't coping. Cedric was proud that he could keep on going, day after day. Even though on the inside, he felt empty. Like a part of him was missing.

Each time he visited her, Cedric brought a book, so when he tired of talking about himself he could read a chapter. He couldn't bear the silence. Silence meant he couldn't stop himself from staring at her…and he didn't want to fall apart in the hospital wing.

But just under a week after Hermione had been attacked, Cedric was barred from the Hospital Wing. He felt himself panic when he was told that he would no longer be allowed to see her, how would he fill the days? Madam Pomfrey told him- and Harry and Ron as well- that it was too risky, what with Dumbledore gone from the school. She was afraid that the attacker would come back and finish them off. Cedric understood, but it didn't make things any easier. He spent more time in the library, along with Harry and Ron. They were keeping something from him, but that didn't matter. Cedric pulled book after book down from the shelves, in vain hope that he would come across something useful.

In between classes, they were escorted by their previous teacher, so no one could wander off, or be left vulnerable to attack. Cedric thought it was entirely unnecessary, being a teacher wouldn't matter to the attacker. They were able to attack more than one person at once. Surely they could manage a crowd? _It probably wasn't even a student... who knew such dark magic? _

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"Harry?" Cedric asked one warm afternoon, a few weeks later. He, along with Harry, Ron, Tom and Claire were sitting by the lake, throwing bits of toast he had got from the kitchens to the giant squid. They had been given set times in which they were allowed outside, and while in that time, two teachers patrolled- just in case there was any trouble.

"Yeah?" Harry replied, turning to face him.

"When you last saw Hermione…. did she say anything that made you curious…. I mean, why did she go to the library?" Cedric asked slowly. He had been thinking about this for a while now, but he decided that since they were becoming friendlier towards each other, it was a safe thing to ask.

Harry frowned, "Umm, not really… she said she just needed to go to the library…I was more focusing on the game to be honest."

"Wait a minute," Ron said, thinking quickly, "don't you remember? She said she had realised something…and she needed to look something up! Why else would she miss the game? She wouldn't do it for ordinary homework…it had to be important."

Cedric stared at Ron. He seemed pretty chuffed that he had remembered this; he appeared to not get that very often.

"So…whatever this was, it was important yeah? Something to do with the attacker maybe? We need to see her. See if we can find anything. Then we can go to McGonagall and hopefully get this sorted out before anything else happens," Cedric said hurriedly. Harry smiled, and quickly thought up a plan. Tom and Claire decided not to be involved, but Cedric was determined to go with Harry and Ron.

"I want- no, I _need_ to see her," he had said. The other two had agreed.

* * *

Later that evening, students were allowed to stay in the Great Hall after dinner. That meant the houses could socialise, as most of their free time was restricted to their specific common rooms.

Cedric smiled as Harry and Ron made their way over. He budged up, to make room for them. The two boys sat down.

"Cedric, we have something we would like to discuss," Harry said firmly. Ron nodded. Cedric frowned.

"…Ok….go ahead," Cedric agreed.

"We know that you care deeply for Hermione, and we also know that she cares for you too. A lot. We've seen her get torn up over you. But that is another issue. Because of this, we feel that you have earned the right to be trusted. We think we should fill you in on what we know. You're coming with us tomorrow, and we think you should know everything we know," Ron began. Cedric was pleased that they counted him as a friend, someone who could be trusted, but he couldn't help be wary of what they were about to tell him.

"First of all. The night that Dumbledore was removed from the school…we were there. In Hagrids hut. We watched Hagrid be taken away and we heard what Hagrid wanted us to know. He said that if we wanted to know some things, that we should follow the spiders," Harry said. Ron muttered something about following the spiders being terrible advice. Cedric smiled, he knew Ron didn't like them, and he was guessing that they had encountered spiders…

"How did you see it? Why were you allowed?" Cedric asked.

"We weren't allowed. Harry was left an Invisibility Cloak by his father. We used that," Ron replied. Cedric held in a gasp. _An invisibility cloak? They're extremely rare! How did he get one of those?_

Harry sensed what he was thinking and continued before he interrupted. That was another story.

"Anyway, we took Hagrids advice and followed a trail of spiders leading into the Forest. We won't tell you the whole story but basically Hagrid isn't the attacker, and the pet Hagrid kept when he was younger was not the monster that roamed around the castle 50 years ago," Harry stopped when he saw the confused expression on Cedrics face.

"Hagrid was expelled when Tom Riddle found him hiding an Acromantula in the dungeons. They thought that he was the Monster of Slytherin. But they were wrong. It wasn't him. We met him, the big spider I mean, and he said that the true Monster was the Acromantula's greatest enemy, and that they didn't speak its name. The one thing we found out was that the girl that died was found in a bathroom," he explained.

"How do you know all this stuff?" Cedric exclaimed. He understood what they had told him, but how did they know about Hagrids expulsion. _And who was Tom Riddle? _

"Right. So what is the significance of the girl then?" Cedric asked when it became clear that they weren't going to divulge that sort of information.

"Think about it. The girl died yeah? What if, she never left?" Ron said excitedly.

Cedric thought for a moment. Then suddenly it became clear.

"MOANING MRYTLE!" Cedric cried.

"Shhh!" Both Harry and Ron said quickly. They didn't want to be overheard, and Cedric had just drawn attention to their little group.

"Sorry," Cedric apologised, blushing slightly.

"It's fine. So what we thought is that after we visit Hermione, we go see her, and ask her a few questions. She's bound to answer- we'll be giving her heaps of attention," Ron said brightly.

Cedric nodded. Harry and Ron got up to leave.

"Thanks guys, for trusting me. I won't let you down," Cedric smiled.

"We know you won't. You wouldn't do anything to hurt Hermione again," Harry smiled in return.

* * *

The next morning dawned bright and sunny. Cedric was grateful about that. He liked the sun, and the heat. It meant there was more to do outside, and he had grown up camping and doing outside activities.

They had chosen this morning because they had classes which were on the same floor. This meant that they would pass each other on the way to their next classes.

Harry and Ron had Lockhart escorting them to Charms, and as they walked down the corridor, Cedric sneaked into their line. Lockhart wouldn't notice.

Lockhart was saying in a loud voice about how this was all unnecessary, he had more important things to do than escorting students to other lessons. Following the plan, Harry and Ron agreed with him. Lockhart looked slightly surprised.

Harry suggested that they would be in no trouble at all going down the corridor and Lockhart beamed, before striding off back to his classroom to, "prepare for his next lesson."

Cedric smiled, the plan was going perfectly. Now all they needed was to get up to the Hospital Wing….

"What do you think you're doing? Where is your teacher?" A sharp voice echoed from in front of them. Cedric looked up to see Professor McGonagall striding towards them, disapproval etched on her face.

"We-we," Ron stuttered, not knowing what to say. Cedric just stood there, praying she wouldn't mention the fact that _he_ was with them too.

"We wanted to see Hermione. The Hospital Wing has barred visitors…and we all," Harry motioned to Ron and Cedric, "miss her."

The professor's face softened.

"Of course, I forget how hard it is on the friends and family of the victims. I will allow you this time to go visit Miss Granger. Please tell Poppy that I give my permission," she croaked. Cedric was taken aback by the hint of emotion in her voice and a tear in her eye.

They hurried past the professor and straight up to the Hospital Wing, thankfully not running into any more staff.

The doors were locked- Harry rapped on the door. A few moments later they heard a click and the door opened. Madam Pomfrey popped her head round.

"Yes?"

"We want to see Hermione. Professor McGonagall gave us permission. We haven't seen her for a while, and just want to talk to her," Harry said firmly.

The matron sighed and let them off, muttering that there was no point talking to a petrified person. But she didn't complain, she knew it was hard for friends, and especially when the friend has romantic feelings for the victim- she could see it in Cedric's eyes. He was hopelessly in love with Hermione. Madam Pomfrey prayed that the Mandrakes would be ready as soon as possible, and then she could put the poor boy out of his misery.

She pulled back the curtains and left them, going back to her office.

They all looked at her for a few minutes; having not seen her in weeks it was staggering to see her again. They had forgot how stiff, frozen she was. It was creepy.

Then Ron spoke, "I guess we had better look for some clues. Is her bag here?"

Harry bent down and picked it up from beneath the cabinet. He rummaged through it while Cedric moved closer to Hermione.

He reached out and touched her outstretched arm. She was cold. He shivered; it was like she was dead. He slowly moved his finger up her arm. He had never noticed that her fists were balled up. He touched her fists and felt something. He beckoned Ron and pointed to a small piece of parchment, which was slightly visible. At the same moment Harry whispered,

"What's this?"

Cedric looked round, to see Harry holding a card. A valentine's card. _His_ valentine's card.

"Umm…that...that's mine. I gave it to her. I wanted to apologise…. I guess she never got the card before…before the attack," Cedric whispered slowly. He felt somewhat relieved. Hermione hadn't appeared to have found his card. This meant that she hadn't got it, and then decided to continue ignoring him. That was always a plus. But, he would have liked her to have known, all the same. Then she would have had hope.

"Oh, umm fair enough then…what have you found?" Harry replied. Ron decided to ignore this exchange.

"Something's hidden inside her fist, you see it?"

Harry leaned closer. He smiled.

"Bingo."

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**Getting near the end of second year, how have you found it so far?**

**Review please.**


	25. Chapter 25: Answers

**Well, I'm back from holiday. I didn't realise how busy I would be this summer. Sorry I haven't updated for a few weeks, again, I had writers block. It's awful.**

**Thanks to: pstibbons, hansbmd, Mwhahahaha18, yellow 14, Michelle Black a.k.a Elle, Readerforlife, ForevrJaci, MrsBlaCKwIfeY, CFCRockAngel, aranona, BFFofCrazyShopoholicPixe-Alice, JB ChicK and Thurin Silverleaf. Love you all.**

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"_Bingo."_

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_Chapter 25: Answers_

The three boys crowded round the outstretched hand.

"Who is going to get it?" Ron whispered.

"Cedric found spotted it, he should get it," Harry said firmly. It wasn't exactly a big deal. The most important thing at that moment was what was hidden in Hermione's hand. This could be the most important slip of paper. It would hold the answers they were yearning for.

Cedric bent down, and gently tried to uncurl her hand. But she was literally frozen. He changed his tactic and instead grabbed the small piece of white and pulled- making sure that it didn't rip. A few seconds later it was out. Cedric unfolded the parchment and immediately realised it was torn from a book.

"What does it say?" Ron pestered.

Cedric read aloud:

'_Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam from its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it.'_

He finished reading. There was silence.

Hermione had figured out what was behind the attacks. She had uncovered the truth.

"Wow," Cedric said, completely astonished.

"This makes perfect sense! I can't believe we didn't think this sooner!" Harry cried. He looked as though suddenly someone had just flicked a light on his brain.

"This answers all our questions. We know what is in the chamber. It makes complete sense. Everything that's been happening- it all fits. Spiders flee before them. The roosters were killed, so they didn't kill the…basilisk," Ron said, beaming.

"Have you been hearing anything unusual around the school Harry?" Cedric asked, curiously.

Harry frowned, "what do you mean?"

"Well….you're a Parselmouth, we found that out at the Duelling Club, and this monster is a Basilisk. So, it makes sense that you might have heard something that no-one else can. You found Mrs Norris, the basilisk did that to her. Didn't you hear anything?" Cedric asked.

Harry looked at Ron, who shook his head. _Ahh, that means they aren't telling me something. Again._

"Fine. Yes. Before the attack, I heard something say things like hiss, kill, blood. Stuff like that. I followed the voice and found Mrs Norris. That's why we were so far away from the Entrance Hall," Harry admitted. He trusted Cedric. And Harry knew that he would be a big part of their lives when Hermione woke up.

"That would make sense. But how didn't you see anything? It would have been right there…" Cedric frowned, slightly bewildered. Then he glanced down at the torn parchment and gasped. How he had failed to not notice it before….

"Look!" Cedric hissed, suddenly aware how much noise they were making. Harry and Ron looked at the parchment.

_Pipes._

"Merlin. She worked that out to. It's been using the plumbing Harry! That's how no-one saw anything," Ron exclaimed.

"Now what?" Harry asked.

"Well, we've worked out everything haven't we….how it got around, why the victims were petrified and not killed…." Ron counted his fingers, "hang on. _Why _weren't they killed?"

Harry and Cedric thought for a moment. But Harry was quicker, he spoke first.

"Because they didn't look directly into the basilisk's eyes. That's how it kills its prey. All the victims must have seen it through other things. Mrs Norris would have seen it through the water from the toilets, Colin must have seen it through his camera, Justin would have seen it through Nearly Headless Nick and Nick couldn't die again, he was a ghost. And Hermione was found with a mirror….she and Penelope must have seen it through that," Harry explained. "Is that everyone done?" he asked.

Ron nodded, but Cedric was still making sure everything fit.

"No. We don't know where the entrance is. We can't go to anyone without that. No-one has ever found it. What we've found out wouldn't be much good," he said.

Ron's smile faded, "Damn."

They all stood in silence. Cedric stared at the parchment again. There must be some clue to where the entrance was….

"Harry…Cedric…pipes," Ron said slowly. They both looked up, in confusion.

"Pipes! It's using the plumbing yeah? So what if the entrance was in a bathroom….?"

"Moaning Myrtles' bathroom!" Harry burst out.

Ron nodded again, "it makes sense. Myrtle died in that bathroom remember?"

"Well done Ron," Cedric smiled, clapping him on the back. Ron beamed. In the heat of the moment, they forgot about all the bad things that were happening at the moment. They were ecstatic that they finally had answers, and once Hermione and everyone else had been given the Mandrake potion, everything would be back to normal.

"Great, well that is everything then. What do we do now?" Ron asked, just as they heard a door open. They froze.

The curtain snapped open. Cedric quickly hid the parchment.

"I think you've had long enough boys. I ask you to go back to your lessons. It won't be long until the Mandrakes are ready. Two weeks at the most. You can see her then," Madam Pomfrey said.

The three boys bid goodbye to Hermione, Cedric taking the longest as usual, and they exited the Hospital Wing.

* * *

"So, where do we go now?" Ron repeated.

"We go and see Myrtle. Just like we planned. We can use this hopefully," he pointed to the parchment, "maybe she can confirm it? And after that, we have to go find McGonagall- she has the highest authority right now since Dumbledore has vanished," Cedric replied, looking at Harry in case he had a better plan.

"This is great. We've finally worked it out- thanks to you and Hermione, Cedric. Hopefully this will be sorted out," Harry said, immensely grateful. Cedric smiled in return.

They were nearly by Moaning Myrtles' bathroom when suddenly, Professor McGonagall's voice echoed through the castle. The three boys looked at each other.

"Oh no," Ron groaned.

"Shhh!" Harry muttered.

"_All students return to their house dormitories at once. All teachers proceed to the second floor corridor please. Immediately."_

"Second floor corridor? Isn't that outside Moaning Myrtles' bathroom?" Cedric asked.

"Yes, now quickly, _move_!" Harry shouted and ran ahead. Cedric and Ron exchanged bewildered glances then hurried after him. He seemed to have a plan, but there was no time to tell it.

They reached the second floor corridor and luckily, no teachers had arrived yet. They couldn't see Harry.

Then, a hand waved frantically, behind a pillar.

"Quickly, under here," Harry's voice ordered, slightly muffled.

Ron seemed to understand and rushed forward. The sound of footsteps could be heard from the other end. Cedric darted towards the pillar and was roughly pulled under a velvety material.

"Make one sound and we're dead," Harry whispered.

"This is-" Cedric started.

Ron hit him on the leg. Hard.

"Oww!"

"Shut up!"

"Sorry."

They were quiet as mice. They had a decent view of the scene that was about to unfold.

The teachers arrived, McGonagall being the last.

"It's happened. A student has been taken from our midst. Right into the Chamber itself," she spoke clearly. A collective gasp went through the teachers, including the three boys hiding in the corner.

"How do you know?" gasped Professor Sprout.

McGonagall pointed to the wall. "They left another message on the wall, beneath the old one. Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever."

"Who is it?" Professor Flitwick asked, his voice unsteady.

Professor McGonagall took a deep death before replying, "Ginny Weasley."

Cedric could feel Ron slump against him. Harry blinked in surprise.

There was uproar with the teachers which gave Cedric enough time to whisper, "but isn't she a pureblood?"

Harry nodded.

Professor McGonagall had already started speaking again, "-shall have to send the students home. It's isn't safe for them anymore. This is the end of Hogw-"

"Sorry! Sorry I'm late, what did I miss?" a new voice was heard from the end of the corridor. Professor Lockhart ran up to the crowd of teachers. He looked at their panicked faces and his beaming smile faltered. Then he looked at the wall, where the new message could be seen.

"Ahh."

Professor Snape smiled slyly.

"Professor Lockhart, just the man we need. A student has been taken into the chamber. Being the Defense teacher, this is your area of expertise. Your moment has come to prove yourself, just like you have done in your many books."

Lockhart's face paled significantly.

"Yes, I remember you saying a few nights ago….you said that you've known all along where the entrance to the chamber was…. And how you were sure of what was lurking inside…" Professor Flitwick smiled gleefully.

"What-n-no-really- I- I didn't- mean-" Lockhart stuttered.

"No no no. I definitely remember you saying you wish you were allowed to have a crack at it before Hagrid was arrested. Something about making less trouble and how you should have been given free rein from the start, instead of wasting time?" Professor Sprout said.

He looked around the teachers, hoping desperately for someone to come to his rescue. Cedric was pleased how bad he looked. Without his usual toothy grin, he looked like a small child. Not the famously handsome Gilderoy Lockhart. He was an awful teacher and deserved to be brought down a peg or two.

"Excellent. Well then, we will leave it to you Gilderoy. Tonight should be a good time to do it. Maybe we won't have to send the students home…" Professor McGonagall smiled weakly.

"Righto…I'll be in my office… getting ready," Lockhart said shakily. Then Cedric saw him back up and run up the corridor and out of sight.

He turned his attention back to the scene.

"Thank Merlin, that's him out of the way. Heads of Houses can you please inform your students of the current situation and tell them that the Hogwarts express will collect them in the morning. Everyone else, make sure the students aren't wandering about the corridors. It's not safe, as this event as proved," Professor McGonagall, getting quite emotional by the end of her speech. All the teachers glanced at the new message, shuddered or wiped tears from their eyes and left.

* * *

When it was clear, Harry pulled off the cloak.

"Ron?" Cedric asked worriedly. Ron was deathly pale. Harry looked quite shaken up, but not as much as Ron.

"Ginny," Ron croaked, "she must have known something. That's why she was taken. Why else? We're purebloods."

Harry patted his back awkwardly.

"What do we do now?"

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**Review please.**


	26. Chapter 26: Fear

**Thanks to reviewers: yellow 14, Michelle Black a.k.a Elle, hansbmd, Readerforlife, MrsBlaCKwIfeY, aranona and CFCRockAngel. **

**I know I'm losing reviewers because of the hideously long months between updates, but I can't help it. I keep getting writers block and I'm now back at school, started my A-Levels. I'm writing the next chapter after this has been put up. So hopefully you won't have to wait so long for the next chapter. **

**Also, I'm going over some of the older chapters, and editing them. I am going to change Cho a little bit, as at the time, some people said she was too fangirlish. When the time comes, Cho will be back! But you'll have to wait and find out....  
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_Harry patted his back awkwardly._

"_What do we do now?"_

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_Chapter 26: Fear_

"Lockhart is going to try get into the Chamber tonight isn't he? Well I reckon we should go see him and tell him everything. He isn't exactly the brightest wizard- he can't know all that we know. We should help him. So he can save Ginny," Cedric said, glancing at Ron when he said Ginny's name. Ron flinched and moaned slightly.

"I can't believe Ginny is down there. What if- what if she-?" Ron moaned.

"Don't say that. She'll be fine Ron. There has to be someone in control of the monster, a basilisk can't do that all by himself. They must want Ginny for something. They won't kill her," Harry said reassuringly.

Cedric nodded then said, "come on- there's no time to waste. Even if she hasn't been harmed, she'll be scared. The sooner we get her the better."

They stood up and hurried in the direction of Professor Lockhart's office. They burst through the classroom and sprinted to the top of the mini staircase. From outside the room, they could hear movement, panicked movement, with lots off hasty mutterings. Curiously, Harry pushed open the door. What they saw made their eyes open wide.

Instead of the usually full room, where you couldn't look anywhere without gazing into the eyes of Lockhart in one of his paintings, the room was blank. You could see the grey stonework; everything had been taken down and packed into a load of suitcases dotted about the small room.

"What is going on?!" Ron thundered, looking absolutely gobsmacked. Lockhart's head whipped up in shock. His eyes darted to the three of them.

"Ahh, it's you three. Mr Diggory- I'm quite surprised to see you in the same company as Mr Potter and Mr Weasley."

"Going somewhere Professor?" Cedric retorted, furiously. It was obvious what he was doing. He had cold feet and couldn't face going into the Chamber. He'd rather flee than own up to being the coward that he is.

"Yes, terribly sorry, something very urgent has come up and I have to leave. Immediately."

"What about my sister?!" Ron cried, aghast.

"Quite unfortunate but out of my hands as far as I'm concerned," Lockhart replied, continuing to pack some outrageous feather quills into a small silk bag.

"We came to you because you're the Defence against the Dark Arts teacher. It's your job to teach us how to protect ourselves from dark magic. You have to save Ginny. We have information that could help you!" Harry said darkly. Cedric saw an evil looking glint in Harry's eye. _I wouldn't want to on the receiving end of that stare… _

Lockhart nervously ran his fingers through his glossy blonde curls.

"Yes well-"

"What about all that stuff you've done? All those stupid books you've made us read, and gloated about?" Cedric interrupted.

"My dear boy, for such a bright young lad, you've quite dim-witted. Do you really think the books would have sold as nearly as well as they have, if they knew it wasn't me doing all those heroic things? No-one cares about a simple wizard with a bald patch and missing teeth, even if he saved a whole village from werewolves. They'd look simply awful on the front cover!"

The three of them stared at him. He had just admitted he was a fake. Cedric was absolutely furious, but before he could reply, Lockhart snapped closed the last suitcase. He reached for his wand and the three of them stepped back at the sight of it.

"Now, I need to be leaving right now, and I'm afraid I can't just leave you here knowing I'm a fraud. All the work I had to do, tracking down the heroic wizards, making them tell me how they did it, and then removing their memories afterwards has made me extremely good at memory charms…."

He raised his wand but before he uttered the spell, Harry whipped out his wand and yelled, "_expelliarmus_!"

Professor Lockhart's wand shot backwards with such force that it pulled him back as well. Ron grabbed it and flung it out of an open window.

"Now, you will come with us, and help us rescue Ginny. Got that?" Cedric said, threateningly. He took out his wand and pointed it at Loclhart. Lockhart nodded in submission and followed the students out of the classroom and towards Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Where are we-" Lockhart started.

"Shut it," growled Ron.

* * *

They made their way to the bathroom, when they got there; Harry shoved Lockhart through the door and then followed. Cedric took a deep breath and went through the open door. He wouldn't admit it to anyone else but he was scared. Hufflepuff's were loyal certainly, but not many were known for their courage. _I don't want to go into the Chamber of Secrets….what happens if something happens to me? What if the basilisk is down there, and I don't make it out in time. I'd never see Hermione again. _Being reminded of Hermione, pain shot through his chest. _I'm doing this for you 'Mione._

Cedric looked around the room. It was a large bathroom, immediately in front of him was a circular stone structure, with sinks on all sides. On his right was the corridor of toilets. High above, there was a glass window, with a small ledge underneath it. He could see a faint shimmer of something, or someone up there, but before he could look closely, it swooped down on them.

"What are you doing here? I thought you weren't going to come back," Myrtle said shakily.

"We wanted to ask you how you died," Harry replied, looking her straight in the eyes.

Myrtle gasped and clasped her ghostly hands together. Her whole demeanour changed at once. She actually smiled, albeit a little bit slyly, but it was a smile nonetheless.

"Oooo, no-one has asked me that before! Well, it happened in this very room, I was sitting in one of the cubicles crying because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. She teased me about a lot of things actually…" she paused, and Cedric felt slightly sympathetic towards her.

"Anyway, I had been in here for a while, when I heard the door open. I thought it was Hornby again, coming back to tease me some more. I was just about to open the door when I heard something else. I heard a boy speaking, but I didn't understand him. It was like he was speaking a foreign language. I was curious, and wanted to see what was going on, so I unlocked the cubicle door and," at this point she swelled importantly, "I died."

Cedric blinked.

"How?" Harry asked.

Myrtle shrugged, "no idea. All I remember is seeing a great big pair of dirty yellow eyes, and then I was floating. My whole body seized up, and then I came back again. I wanted to come back and haunt Olive Hornby. Oh, I made her regret the day she started teasing me."

"Where…where did you see the eyes?" Harry asked.

Myrtle pointed, "over there somewhere. One of the taps has never worked."

Because Cedric still had his wand out, he kept an eye on Lockhart has the other two boys rushed to the sink Myrtle has talked about.

"Look! There's something here. Underneath the tap," Ron said eagerly. He turned to Harry. "Say something in Parseltongue."

Cedric saw Harry frown for a second. Harry bent down, trying to get a better look at the small etched snake.

"Open up," he commanded. Harry glanced at Ron, who shook his head.

Harry shuffled forward. Then he titled his head.

The words Harry spoke next were definitely Parseltongue. Cedric saw Myrtle gasp, as if she finally recognised the language.

Immediately, the tap glowed white and began to spin. It span lower and lower, until it was completely out of sight. It left a hole, big enough for a man to slide down.

Cedric made Lockhart move towards Harry and Ron.

Harry looked at him and Ron before saying, "I'm going down there."

Ron said quickly, "me too."

Harry turned who Cedric who, after a moment's pause, nodded.

"Well, it seems you don't need me then…I'll just-" Lockhart began.

"No," growled Ron, "you're going first." Ron seized Lockhart by his robes and pushed him down the whole. A girlish scream echoed around the room, then got fainter and fainter, until a soft thump could be heard.

"Wow, it's a long way down," Cedric said, becoming quite worried.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Harry smiled. He then sat down at the edge of the hole, and pushed himself down. Ron followed shortly afterwards and they both disappeared from sight.

* * *

That left Cedric, alone in the room. What was he going to do? Could he face going deep underground, or should he go get help first? Even if that meant leaving them down there, at least he could raise the alarm. Cedric sat down, and put his head in his hands.

And now, faced with the prospect of going through the hole, Cedric relived the experience all over again.

Ever since he was younger, Cedric had developed a fear of small dark spaces. His family had been on a walk in the forest near his home. Cedric, being the ever energetic boy, had run on ahead. He ran until he could no longer hear his parents calling his name. This was when he became frightened, and started running back in the direction he came. But he was lost. Cedric stumbled, tripped, and fell down a small hole in the undergrowth. Completely devoid of light, and so small that his chest was constricted, Cedric screamed his lungs out, desperately praying that his father could hear him. What seemed like hours later, and when Cedric was completely exhausted, he heard rustling up above. Light shone down into the hole, and he was found. He never ran off again, and it left him traumatised ever since.

"Are you alright?" a voice awoke him from his memories.

Cedric blinked, and saw Myrtle floating in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just need to get the courage up to go down…there."

"If you want, while you're down there, I can go find some help? I've never left this bathroom before but I'm sure I can do it for you," Myrtle smiled dreamily.

Cedric thought for a moment, and then nodded.

"OK, now stand up, and get down there. You're friends need you. I'd give you a push, but I'm afraid that wouldn't do much good."

Cedric nervously walked towards the opening, gulped, then jumped. He could feel the narrowness constrict him, and Cedric desperately tried not to panic. _Small breaths keep breathing, don't panic._

Eventually, he felt the pipe finish, and he was flung face forwards onto the soft ground.

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**Love it? Hate it? Review it?**


	27. Chapter 27: The Chamber of Secrets

**Holy shit, it's been a month since I last updated! It really doesn't seem that long....all I can say is sorry.**

**School is a nightmare, who knew doing four A-Levels would be so much work? And also, my laptop broke from over heating too many times, I've lost everything that wasn't saved to my memory stick- including the first part of this chapter.... sometimes I hate technology *sad face***

**So, here you go. You know who unreliable I am right now. I may just finish the story at the end of second year and write smaller stories? Really don't know what to do.**

**Thanks to: Random Person In ur Bushes, CFCRockAngel, TimeRose, Readerforlife, MaxRide05, hansbmd, yellow 14, aranona and allora123.**

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_Chapter 27: The Chamber of Secrets_

_Previously: Cedric nervously walked towards the opening, gulped, then jumped. He could feel the narrowness constrict him, and Cedric desperately tried not to panic. __Small breaths keep breathing, don't panic._

_Eventually, he felt the pipe finish, and he was flung face forwards onto the soft ground._

* * *

Disorientated, Cedric sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked around, and saw that it was very dark with damp stains along the walls.

"We must be underneath the lake," said Harry as he helped Cedric up.

"Cheers," Cedric smiled, before getting his hand out of his pocket and muttering, "Lumos!"

Light burst out of his wand an illuminated the passageway. To his right, Cedric saw that the passage continued.

"Shall we?" he asked the others, pointing to his right.

Ron nodded, and with their wands infront of them, they walked carefully along the passage.

"Remember, if you see any movement at all, shut your eyes," Harry ordered.

Cedric felt his pulse quicken. Yes he may have been brave enough for Hufflepuff, but he wasn't a Gryffindor. He was loyally following his friends to save someone, and facing some of his fears in the process. Cedric felt his wand slicken in his grasp._ Get a grip! _

"You alright?" Ron asked quietly.

Cedric nodded, he didn't feel well enough to speak. The small space. The darkness. It was horrible.

Ron looked at him, concerned, but said nothing in reply in fear of alerting the rest of the group that Cedric looked really ill.

They turned the corner and stopped dead in their tracks.

Cedric could see the outline of a long tall shape. A basilisk size shape. Instantly he shut his eyes. His heart was now painfully fast. Seconds past which felt like hours.

"It's not moving," Ron whispered.

"Maybe it's asleep?" Harry suggested.

Cedric kept his eyes tightly shut. He could hear Lockhart whimpering in front of him. He heard footsteps slowly move away from him. Agonisingly slow Cedric opened his eyes. Harry was moving towards the shape, his arm stretched in front of him. Cedric snapped his eyes shut.

"It's alright," he heard Harry gasp; "it's just the skin."

Cedric opened his eyes now. Harry was standing over the illuminated shape, and he could make out the poisonous green snake skin which blocked the passage. Involuntarily, he shuddered.

"Blimey..." Ron muttered nervously. Somewhere near where they were know, was the basilisk.... _scary stuff._

Suddenly, he heard a thud. He jumped back and his eyes darted, searching for what made the noise.

Then he noticed Lockhart on the floor, apparently unconscious. Harry looked up from across the passage and began moving back but too late.

Ron, who was closest to Lockhart, swore as he jumped up, a triumphant look on his face. In his hand was Ron's wand. Looking at it, Cedric noticed it didn't exactly look like a normal wand. It looked damaged.

"The journey ends here boys," Lockhart said snidely, "I'll take a bit of the creatures skin back to the castle with me. I'll tell him that I was too late to save the girl and that you three tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body. Say goodbye to your memories!"

Cedric shouted, "NO," as Lockhart raised Ron's broken wand high in the air.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Lockhart bellowed, "OBLIVIATE!" The wand exploded backwards hitting Lockhart in the chest. He was thrown back and hit the wall with a loud bang. The walls caved in and Cedric dropped to the floor, protecting his head, praying that everyone would be alright. He winced when stray rocks hit him on his back and his legs, but after a while they stopped. Cedric looked up and saw that the passageway was blocked by a mountain of rock. And Harry was missing.

"Harry?" Cedric shouted.

"Cedric? Where are Ron and Lockhart? Are they ok?" Harry's muffled voice came from the other side of the solid rock wall.

Cedric glanced around. He saw Ron moan slightly, rubbing his head.

"Yeah, Ron's alright but I don't know about Lockhart. He got blasted with the wand..." Cedric replied loudly.

A soft, "ouch," came from the other end of the passageway. Ron had kicked the Professor in the shins in an effort to wake him up.

"Go on Harry, we'll try and clear some of the rubble for when you and Ginny get back. We'll be fine here. Go get Ginny," Ron called.

A long silence.

"OK," croaked Harry.

"See you in an hour," Cedric said to the wall of rock.

* * *

"Get up you lazy sod," Ron said angrily.

Cedric sat down by the rock trying to calm his breathing. He watched the scene unfold as Lockhart blinked a few times, then a dazed smile stretched across his face.

"Hello, what's your name?" He asked Ron brightly. Ron stared at Lockhart.

"Ron..." he said hesitantly.

"That's a nice name," Lockhart smiled, "and....what's mine?"

Ron gaped at Cedric.

"He's lost his memory!"

Cedric laughed weakly. Now that the passage was blocked off, he felt even more enclosed. Like he couldn't escape. It was really starting to affect him.

"Nice place you got here...do you two live here?" Lockhart asked pleasantly as he looked around.

Ron swivelled back to Lockhart and hit him on the shoulder.

"Stupid git," he muttered to himself, "come on then Cedric, we need to start clearing the rocks for....Harry and Ginny."

Leaving Lockhart alone in the corner humming to himself, the two boys started slowly to clear away the rocks. They were at it for ages before they heard something.

"Listen. Do you hear that?" Ron dropped the brick he was holding and peered through the small gap they had made.

"It's them! Harry rescued her!" Cedric cried.

"What's that he's holding? And is that....Fawkes?"" Ron asked flabbergasted.

Harry! Ginny! You're safe!" Cedric beamed.

To Ron he said, "quick, make the gap bigger, Harry can't fit through it yet."

They hurriedly made the gap bigger and Ginny squeezed through first.

Ron broke down and with tears streaming down his cheeks, he held onto Ginny tightly, like he would never let her go around.

"Well done Harry," smiled Cedric. Ginny glanced at him, and blushed deeply. Obviously she had heard about him through her classmates, as he was quite a good looking guy.

"Why is Fawkes here? And, blimey Harry! You've got the Sorting Hat!" Ron cried hoarsely.

Harry smiled weakly. He looked exhausted.

"Later, come on, let's get Lockhart and get out of here."

* * *

**Definitely not my best, but I couldn't leave you guys waiting so long, I feel so guilty.**

**If you review, I will send you a preview once I start writing the next chapter.**

**Off to bed for me now!**


	28. Chapter 28: The Aftermath

**OK, so this story is ending at the end of second year. I know most of you will be disappointed, but it's becoming a chore to write. I'm not really enjoying writing this anymore. So instead of making you wait ages for crappy updates (in my opinion) I want to focus on writing other stories. Smaller ones, which I can plan really well and not write random things I have to stick to later- (for example Parvati being Harry's girlfriend in first year. That's stupid and when I edit all the chapters I will take it out).**

**I've finished the story now, so you will only have to wait a few days between updates. It will end on Chapter 30. **

**Thanks to: TimeRose, MeredithGlass, hansbmd, Readerforlife, yellow 14, MaxRide05 and CFCRockAngel.**

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_Chapter 28: After..._

Harry led the way with Cedric while Ron and Ginny walked behind them, glad to be re-united. Lockhart bumbled along, casually asking every so often, "Who am I? Where are we? Do we live here?" And etc. Cedric found it quite amusing but then realised how badly the memory charm had backfired. Lockhart would probably never be the same again, and what a shame that was.

Harry explained to them on the way about the diary and Tom Riddle, and also how Fawkes and the Sorting hat. Cedric was quite astounded that Fawkes had responded to Harry. He had met Fawkes in his first year when Dumbledore asked to see him about his outstanding defence against the dark arts test where he achieved 178%, a record at the time. He picture was in the daily prophet and that had helped him gain popularity, something which he didn't always like but he knew it was a good thing to have.

When they got to the hole which led up to the bathroom, they looked around suddenly realising they had no way of getting back up. Fawkes started flapping his wings impatiently, and Cedric suddenly realised what he was trying to get across.

"I think we should hold onto his feathers. He can fly us up."

Ron looked shocked, "there's no way Fawkes could hold all our weight!"

Harry nodded thoughtfully, "I think we should try. How else are we going to get back up?"

Sighing in defeat, Ron bobbed his head. Harry went first; Ron gingerly held his hand with Ginny on the other side. Lockhart was next and Cedric gripped tightly to the professor's free hand. If he thought that going down was difficult, he was in for a surprise. Fawkes leapt off and everyone gripped each others hands tightly, afraid to loosen their grip in case they fell. Cedric held in a scream as they flew up the tight passageway.

Finally, they reached the top. They all collapsed onto the floor, gasping.

"You're back," said Myrtle, sounding completely astonished, from overhead.

"Yep," wheezed Ron. The climb had taken his breath away.

"I found Professor McGonagall, she alerted the Headmaster. You're to go to her office immediately," she said, still staring at Harry.

They all stood up and brushing the dirt off their robes, exited the bathroom.

Lockhart, who didn't have a clue who he was, let alone where he was, started to wander in the wrong direction before Ron pulled him back.

"This way," he pointed.

They hurriedly walked to McGonagall's office and pushed open the door.

"GINNY!" a female voice cried from inside.

They all crowded in the room. Cedric recognised Mr and Mrs Weasley before they flung their arms around their only daughter.

Cedric saw Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall behind the large desk, both looking tired and overwhelmed.

Abruptly, Cedric found warm arms around himself. He had been pulled into a group hug by Mrs Weasley. He found this quite strange because he had never exactly met Ron's parents before.

"You saved her, thank you," he heard Mrs Weasley sob to them.

Cedric blushed slightly and nodded. He felt like he didn't really belong there, like an outsider.

"So," Dumbledore said smiling, "would anyone care to tell me what happened? And, what happened to dear Gilderoy here."

"Memory charm backfired on himself, he has no idea who he is," Harry said.

"Ahh, yes. Well, Mr Diggory, could you please escort the professor to the Hospital Wing and hand him over to Poppy before returning. I'd like to know your involvement with these Gryffindor second years. Also, please tell her that I'll be sending Miss Weasley to her later for a calming draught."

Silently thanking the Headmaster for getting out of this awkward reunion, he led Lockhart out of the office and in the direction of the Hospital Wing. He took his time, not wanting to go back into the room and see the gratitude of Mr and Weasley's faces. He didn't want them to feel they owed him anything, he just happy that Ginny was alive.

At last, they reached the large oak doors of the Hospital Wing.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and opened it. Madam Pomfrey came bustling out.

"Goodness! What happened to you? Do you know what time is it? And Professor Lockhart! Are you accompanying him?"

Professor Lockhart gazed round the room in awe, ignoring Madam Pomfrey.

"Professor?" Cedric nudged him.

"What? Oh, am I a Professor? Goodness me, I doubt I was very good...."

"He's lost his memory Madam Pomfrey. Professor Dumbledore told me to bring him to you. He also said that Ginny will be coming to you later for a calming draught," Cedric explained.

"Lost his memory? Gracious, how did that happen? There's nothing I can do for him, we'll have to send him to St Mungo's.... thank you Mr Diggory, for everything. You may leave now."

"Umm, can I ask you something?" Cedric asked quickly. He hadn't had time to think until now, where he could feel her presence.

"You want to see Miss Granger do you? Well, you won't have to wait long; we're administering the Mandrake roots tomorrow morning. Everyone who was petrified will be revived."

A big grin spread across his face.

"Thank you, I'll come back in the morning then," he said, then left the Hospital Wing.

* * *

He made his way back to Professor McGonagall's office to find only Harry and Ron in there. Ginny had obviously gone to the Hospital Wing. He wasn't surprised that he hadn't seen her; he had gone the long way round.

"Mr Diggory," smiled the Headmaster, "thank you for coming back. Harry here has explained your involvement and I'd like you to receive Special Awards for Services to the School and also 200 points for Hufflepuff. This is what I have awarded Mr Potter and Mr Weasley and I feel you deserve it to."

Cedric beamed, "thank you sir."

"Now, I'd like to talk to Harry alone if that's alright with you two. There will be a celebration feast tomorrow night; it is far too late tonight. Goodnight Mr Diggory, Mr Weasley."

Ron and Cedric left the office, both in a daze. They had done it.

"Hermione is going to be revived tomorrow, that will be another reason to celebrate," Cedric said as they walked in the direction of the staircase.

"Really?" Ron gasped, "That's great news! It will be great to have her back!"

"I know," Cedric smiled.

"I'll see you in the Hospital Wing in the morning then? I'll tell Harry when he comes back."

Cedric felt a pang of disappointment. He had hoped to see Hermione by himself but he knew he couldn't deny her best friends from seeing her wake up.

"Sure. See you then."

They separated and Cedric went down the staircase, towards the kitchens.

He sneaked into the Hufflepuff common room where a few people were still up. He couldn't see Tom anywhere.

Making his way quietly to his dormitory, he got out his pyjamas and made his way to the shower room, realising how dirty he really was when the water turned brown.

Feeling refreshed, and happy for the first time in a while he slipped back into the dormitory.

"Cedric! Where have you been?!" an angry voice yelled from the bed nearest the door.

There was Tom, sat up straight in his bed, a furious look on his face.

Realisation dawned on Cedric; he had never told Tom or anyone where he had gone. He had followed Harry and Ron like a sheep.

"Merlin. I'm so sorry Tom. I was so caught up in everything that I never realised I should come back and tell you what I was doing."

"You think you can apologise and that will be that? God Cedric, I was worried sick! You disappear from lessons and I don't see you all day until now! I thought you had been attacked! And yes, I know that you're half blood, but still. I didn't know what to think."

Cedric knew the best thing to do was be silent. Tom was an even tempered person, so it was rare to see him so angry over something. He took every blow Tom dealt and when he was finished, Cedric apologised again.

Tom scoffed.

Sighing, Cedric began to explain what had happened in the last few days. He became conscious of how much he had actually kept from Tom. He was so caught up with Hermione, and Harry and Ron. He had neglected his closest friends.

When Cedric finished explaining, Tom calmed down slightly.

"Wow."

Cedric nodded, "yeah."

It was a lot to take in.

"So Hermione will be revived tomorrow? I take it you're going as soon as you wake up?" Tom asked, smiling.

Cedric grinned, "You bet. I'm not going to waste any more time. I'm going to tell her how I feel."

"Finally."

"I know."

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**Please review.**


	29. Chapter 29: Reunited

**This is the penultimate chapter guys! Hope you like it. And yeah, I'm kind of rushing. And I've looked back to through the chapters to try and guess how long she's been petrified. Cedric was allowed to see her for a week then no visitors were allowed. Then I wrote a few weeks later. So I've put a month down. That alright?**

**Thanks to: Leedle-leedle-lee, hansbmd, aranona, yellow 14 and Readerforlife, for reviewing. Means the world to me. Keep them up for the this chapter and the next one ; )  
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_Chapter 29: Re-united_

Next morning dawned, with blue skies across the horizon. Cedric shot up, suddenly full of energy. _Today Hermione would wake up. She'll be mine. _He quickly got dressed and woke Tom up, asking he if wanted to go. Tom mumbled a reply and then began to gently snore once more. Cedric shrugged and proceeded out of the common room and to the Great Hall for breakfast.

He sat by Daniel, who was an early riser, and they chatted for a few minutes while Cedric gulped down his pancakes. Once he saw Harry and Ron enter the Great Hall, he swiftly moved across the hall.

"Hi," he smiled.

"Hey," Harry said. "Let us grab some toast and then we'll go up to the Hospital Wing together."

Cedric, quite impatient by this point, nodded and tried to speed the Gryffindor boys up.

"Come on guys! She might already be awake and you'll have missed it!" Cedric said edgily.

"Merlin Cedric. You really can't wait a few minutes before seeing her? You're not the only ones who've missed her. Just give us a few minutes and we'll catch you up, alright?" Ron snapped back. He was not a morning person.

Cedric sighed, "Fine. I'll see you up there."

While walking up the stairs, he was actually glad that the other two weren't with him. It would give him some precious moments with Hermione before everyone else came barging in. He'd be able to tell her what she meant to him, how sorry he was that he wasted what could have been the best days of his life, and ignored her instead. He loved her, he saw that now. And he couldn't wait to tell her.

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The big oak doors which separated the Hospital Wing from the corridor were closed. Taking a deep breath, he pushed them open and took in his surroundings. All the curtains were open, so he knew that he wasn't the first to arrive. There were other close friends of the victims all standing around their friends beds. There were many students crying with joy that they could be re-united with their friend, and also others were laughing, keen to make up for lost time. He walked along the centre of the room, waiting until he saw the last bed on his right hand side. There she was. Her eyes were closed, probably resting. He was glad that she couldn't see him right now. Although it had only been over a day since he had last seen her, he looked at her with new eyes. Like this was the first time he had ever seen her.

Her skin was pale, but flawlessly clear. Her wavy hair was arranged on her pillow, delicately framing her angelic face. She was an angel. A perfect angel. _His._

He reached down to touch her hand, which rested on the edge of the bed. It was warm now, she had been revived. At the touch, he felt sparks shoot up his arm, straight to his chest. As if she felt them to, Hermione shivered, and opened her eyes.

"Cedric," she breathed, her pale red lips parting and arranging into a huge grin.

"Hermione. You're back. I've missed you so much!" Cedric replied, taking in every inch of her, desperate to remember this scene forever.

"How long have I been asleep? Madam Pomfrey wouldn't tell me. Where's Harry and Ron?" Hermione asked, her voice sounding hoarse. But that was because she hadn't used it for a while.

"Just over a month.....which isn't long if you think about it," he said quickly, seeing her expression change into panic, "Imagine how Colin feels, being out of it for basically the entire school year. But, wow Hermione, so much has happened! I can't wait to tell you all about it," Cedric said happily. He wanted to tell her. He _needed_ to tell her, he felt like he could burst.

"Hermioneiloveyou," he blurted.

She blinked.

"What?"

But before he could reply, loud footsteps were coming closer. Cedric looked up and saw Harry and Ron run towards them. He felt a pang of disappointment, but knew that he couldn't deny them of seeing her again.

"Hermione!" Ron roared, beaming.

"It's good to have you back," Harry said, smiling.

"It's good to be back. Cedric told me that a lot has happened. Does that mean you found what I found? Did you find the chamber?" Hermione asked enthusiastically.

She gestured to Cedric to help pull her up. She meant business.

"Where to start?" Ron pondered, grinning at Cedric and Harry.

"When we came to see you, we found the page you ripped out from the book in your hand. It took a lot of effort to get it out of there, believe me," Ron laughed.

"But before that, Ron and I went into the forest to follow some advice that Hagrid gave us. This was a few days after you were petrified. The result of this was that we should go see Moaning Myrtle. She was the student that was killed 50 years ago. You're clue about the pipes helped us link those two together. The entrance was in her bathroom," Harry continued.

"Before they went to see her though, they met with me and decided to share what they knew so far. They thought that when you woke up," Cedric paused, "they thought that I'd be a big part of your life. So we decided to wipe the slate clean and become friends. For you."

Hermione blushed.

"Anyway. We were about to go to see her but then we found out that Ginny had been taken by the monster. Turns out she was writing in Tom Riddle's diary and he was controlling her. Tom Riddle left a piece of himself in the diary; he was the Heir of Slytherin and wanted to open it again when he had left school. And guess who he is now?"

"Who?" Hermione whispered.

"Voldemort," Harry grimaced.

"No!" Hermione cried.

"It's ok, Ginny is fine. Harry destroyed the diary, and the basilisk. Me and Cedric were in the chamber as well, but there was a wall collapse thanks to Lockhart and we were separated from Harry," Ron reassured her.

Hermione blinked a couple of times.

"I really don't think I'm up for this right now. Explain it to me later, while I've got some strength back. Is it ok to have a few more minutes alone with Cedric?" Hermione said.

Cedric couldn't stop a smile from forming on his face.

Harry sighed, "Sure. We'll go talk to Madam Pomfrey and ask her how long you have to stay here. Breakfast should still be down there. Do you want us to get you a blueberry muffin?"

Hermione giggled, "I could kill for one of those! The food up here is alright, but she never served us muffins before! Thanks Harry."

The two boys left.

"So. What was it you were saying before they came?" Hermione asked, still giggling.

"Hmm?" Cedric asked, absentmindedly rubbing her hand. He hadn't let it go yet, and he knew Ron and Harry had noticed, even if they didn't say anything.

"Don't get all coy on me Mr Diggory, tell me," Hermione laughed, her eyes twinkling.

He took a deep breath, and looked into her eyes.

"I love you."

The laughing stopped.

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**Review please!**


	30. Chapter 30: The End

**OK everyone, this is the last chapter. I'm so happy it's lasted this long but I'm just not enjoying writing it. Thanks to everyone for reading this story and sticking with me to the end, especially CFCRockAngel : ) you rock girl!**

**Love to: CFCRockAngel, hansbmd, aranona, yellow 14 and Readerforlife.**

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_Chapter 30: The End_

_He took a deep breath, and looked into her eyes._

"_I love you."_

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"You love me?" Hermione asked breathlessly.

Cedric nodded, afraid that if he spoke again his voice would crack. He was anxiously waiting for her answer. What would he do if she didn't love him back?

"I...I...oh Cedric, you must know that I love you too. I always have," she beamed. Cedric erupted. His whole body was on fire. He leapt up and flung himself at Hermione, holding her for what would be the first time of forever.

"Mr Diggory! Please control yourself! Miss Granger is resting; she doesn't need a large boy jumping on her bed," Madam Pomfrey shrieked from the far side of the Hospital Wing. Bashfully, he got off Hermione and instead sat on the edge of the bed. He picked up her hand again, and held it tightly.

"You love me too?" Cedric asked.

This time, Hermione nodded. Words couldn't describe how she felt.

"This is the best day of my life," Cedric sighed happily before carefully leaning to lie next to her. But even this got a shriek of disapproval from the matron.

"Mr Diggory! You are causing a scene. Kindly leave and come back in a few hours when I can discharge my patient!"

He grimaced but knew if he resisted, Madam Pomfrey wouldn't allow him to come back later.

"I'll see you later," he whispered to her. Hermione blushed when he softly kissed her on the cheek.

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Hermione was in a daze. Only a mere hour ago had she woken up completely disorientated. She had no idea where she was or why. But then, when she glanced around and saw other students waking up as well she remembered. She had seen the basilisk before she had managed to tell Harry about it. She flexed her hands and remembered how tightly she had scrunched the ripped piece of parchment from the book, silently praying that they would find it. She had closed her eyes to stop the thoughts running round her head and, already feeling quite sleepy, she had drifted off again.

Now, after Cedric had left, she could get her head round the extraordinary events that took hold. Cedric _loved_ her. He loved _her._ And she knew that he thought she didn't feel the same way. How could the sweet Hufflepuff think that? She had loved him, not really realising it till then, since the troll attacked her at Halloween last year. She remembered having that internal debate in her head. But how could she have not denied it? They hadn't known each other for long, they weren't close. And know they were. They had admitted their love to one another, and Hermione was the happiest she had ever been.

Madam Pomfrey bustled over.

She handed her a frothing potion and then said, "He visited you every day until I banned all visitors from the hospital wing. You should have seen him. He never stopped talking, never stopped holding your hand. He looked so lost, I- I couldn't see it anymore. He has loved you for a long time Hermione, and I think he had just realised it then."

Speechless, Hermione avoided replying by drinking the potion. It tasted delicious, a mixture of honeycomb and vanilla. Her eyes became droopy, and she felt all her limbs relax. She didn't fight the effects of the dreamless sleep potion, she welcomed it.

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Cedric ran from the Hospital Wing, all the way down to the Hufflepuff common room. He flung himself inside and when he saw Tom and Claire, he started jumping up and down. He couldn't contain himself. A huge grin was fixed on his face and he had all this nervous energy.

"Geez Cedric, calm down! What on earth has happened?" Claire asked worriedly.

"She loves me! Hermione loves me!" Cedric crowed, punching the air.

"Cedric, seriously, you're embarrassing yourself...."

"No! Hermione loves me Tom! Don't you see? I'm so happy! I can't stop...." Cedric started laughing. He clutched his sides and bent down, he couldn't stop laughing.

"Ok...I'm very happy for you Ced. It took you a while to realise it, we've known for a while. But you're scaring me. Let's get you outside. I think you need to let go of some of that energy....."

Claire ran upstairs to grab the boys' broomsticks and when she came back, Cedric was sitting on the yellow sofa, giggling every few seconds. She had never seen him like this....he had been slightly depressed for a while and now, the side effects. She hoped he would be back to normal soon.

"Here you go Cedric," she said, carefully holding out his broomstick.

"Thanks Claire," he replied weakly.

Tom led the way out of the castle and to the pitch. Luckily, there were no Quidditch practises, considering the Quidditch season was over. There were a few people in the stands lying on the seats, catching some rare sun rays. The two boys mounted their brooms while Claire sat on the ground with a book. She hated flying, and only attempted when she felt brave enough and when Tom was extremely persuasive.

The two boys sped through the air, and after a while, Cedric certainly felt better. He had released some of his energy by doing some dangerous moves, the Wronski Feint being one of them. His father subscribed to the Quidditch Journal, and Cedric enjoyed reading them.

A few hours had flown past, and Cedric was anxious to go back up to the Hospital Wing. He gave his broomstick to Tom and hurried up through the castle to the Hospital Wing. It was times like this that he disliked the fact the Hospital Wing was on the top floor, in its own tower.

He ruffled his hair and smoothed down his clothes before entering the Hospital Wing. There she was, dressed in her school robes and standing by the door. Her face lit up when she saw him, and Cedric's heart started beating dangerously fast.

"Let's go for a walk," Hermione said, linking hands with his, "my legs are really stiff from being in bed so long."

Cedric hardly heard a word of that, he was too busy staring at their interlinked hands, and the feelings he experienced. He prayed that his hands wouldn't become sweaty, as they walked all the way back down the castle and into the grounds. Hermione was leading him somewhere, and Cedric followed. He couldn't think coherently. Hermione controlled him, he was hers.

Hermione stopped and let go of his hand. He accidentally whined at the loss of contact and Hermione giggled at him.

"Sit down," she asked.

He complied, and then realised where they were. It was the place where they had almost kissed last year, before they were interrupted.

"This is-"

"Yes, I was hoping we could continue as if we weren't interrupted...." Hermione whispered, suddenly dropping her eyes, as if she was embarrassed.

He reached out and touched her chin, then lifted her head up. Her eyes looked anywhere but his face.

"Look at me Hermione," he said softly.

She did.

Cedric leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. Her lips were surprisingly smooth, considering she had been frozen for a month. She felt amazing; he couldn't believe he had wasted all this time. He held her back with one hand and the other was stroking her hair. Both her arms were flung across his back. They continued to move their lips together until Hermione pulled back, gasping for breath.

"Wow," she breathed. She pressed herself into his body and settled there, her head resting on his chest hearing how fast his heart was going.

"I love you Hermione."

"I love you Cedric."

Fred and George were wrong that first evening at Hogwarts. Cedric Diggory was certainly not _Way Out Of Her League._

The End.

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___**There we go! This was my baby, and now it's complete. Thank you everyone for your support. It means the world to me.**_

___**Please, everyone review one last time! What was your favourite moment, in this chapter or in the whole story?**_


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